Soleil Kentley: Snake Bites
by girlthatwrites
Summary: This is a story about Soleil Kentley previously in Tess Unknown: Daughter of Lady A . She is about to be faced with one of the biggest challenges of her life. After a peculiar burn she acquires while helping save someone from a fire, her life starts to
1. Chapter 1: Oh! You Just Got Burned!

**Chapter 1: Oh, You Just Got Burned**

I was walking by the Big House when Nick St. Vincent came running out. He was carrying a piece of paper. He ran right up to me. His stormy gray eyes were wide with excitement. He looked like a total maniac. That could only mean one thing…  
>"Oh my gods, Jessica Alba replied to your fan letter?" I asked.<br>He grinned. "No. But I got an internship!" He waved the paper in my face. "See it? See it?"  
>"Yes, Nick, I can see it." If I could not I would need some serious help. "Where's the internship?"<br>"This architectural firm my dad's friend owns." We started walking. "It's huge. And, the best part is, I'm actually getting paid."  
>"Does Norman know?"<br>"Not yet. I'm going to tell him right now. Want to come?"  
>Norman and I were not exactly on what you would call "speaking terms" right now. "I'll have to pass."<br>"Okay."  
>He ran off again. Nick was running through a dark shadow created by a tree when he was suddenly tackled by a guy dressed in all black. The guy in all black stood up. He helped Nick up. "Nicoooooo!" I yelled and ran over.<br>"'Sup?" he asked when I got there.  
>"Nothing. How about you?"<br>"Nothing. Just randomly tackling my best friends. I heard you got a bad injury a month or so ago." Nico could be like an overprotective brother sometimes.  
>"It wasn't that bad. I didn't die a slow painful death or become obsessed with cheese puffs. How was Zombieland?"<br>"The Underworld," he corrected, "was fine."  
>"Cool."<br>"You're back just in time for Capture the Flag," Nick informed him. "Ares versus Athena."  
>"Apollo on your team?"<br>I frowned. "Norman ruined the chances of that ever happening again."  
>Nico looked at me. "Yeaaah, I'm not playing."<br>"Why not?"  
>"You, Norman, competition involving weapons. I actually like my limbs so I'm just going to sit this one out."<br>"Wise choice," Norman whispered to him. It was so quiet that I heard it clearly. "C'mon, I'm off to the arena."  
>The two walked away. I head back to my cabin. I had barely come within view of the cabins when the smell of smoke filled the air. I squinted through the growing haze. Flames were flickering in the Ares cabin. I sprinted over.<br>All the Ares campers were standing in a row outside the cabin. Chiron, the Hecate kids, and Percy Jackson were trying to put out the flames. Marcus, the Ares head counselor, was making sure everyone was okay. Suddenly he shouted. He went running back into the burning cabin. I looked at the sad faces of the Ares children.  
>"Why did he just-"<br>"Isabella is still in there," a girl cut me off.  
>"She's ten," another added.<br>I looked back at the burning building. Chiron looked near panic. He was yelling for Marcus to come back out. A yelp of pain came from inside the cabin. I knew this was not my family, but I had to do something.  
>I dashed inside. People had tried to stop me, but I was too quick. Even when I squinted my eyes still smarted from the smoke. I could hardly breath, the heat was so horrible. I dropped onto my hands and knees. The fire was alarmingly close to my right side. I scuttled sideways.<br>Through the smoke I saw Marcus hoisting an unconscious girl onto his shoulder. I stood up slowly. I stepped forward to help. A ceiling beam fell down in front of me. Now a wall of fire blocked Marcus from me and the entrance. The flamed were about four or five feet high. I backed up. I tripped on an empty quiver. I fell back onto a bed. Part was the sheet had caught on fire. My left arm hit that part for a brief seconds before I pulled it away.  
>The fire was the wooden beam spread to the floor. I stood on the bed. I could see over the flames to where Marcus was struggling to open a window. He needed help. I turned to got back through the door so I could go around and open the window from the outside. I had forgotten the door was blocked by flames. I looked back at Marcus, still struggling to open the window.<br>I started to jump up and down on the bed. Then I jumped as I high as I could go. I dived over the wall of flames. I crashed to the floor, choking on the smoke. I had landed about two feet past the wall of fire. I scrambled over to where Marcus was having trouble with the window. The flames from along the right side of the cabin were getting closer.  
>I pulled my knife from its sheath on my hip. I put the tip against the bottom of the window. I started to drag it along. The rust that had sealed the window came off. After it all came off I jammed the tip of the knife in the middle. I started to pry it open. It opened with a loud screeching sound. I pushed it up so Marcus could get out with Isabella. I climbed out right after them just as the flames reached where we had been standing.<br>My lungs burned. I staggered far away from the cabin. I took a humongous breath of fresh air. My legs and arms were scratched, bruised, and sooty. Hint: do not wear shorts when saving people from a burning building. I examined my burn on my arm. It was not as bad as I had thought it was. But, it still hurt like Hades.  
>A cheer went up behind me. I turned. The fire was out. A few of my siblings were carrying Isabella to the infirmary on a gurney. I realized almost the whole camp was now standing in front of the cabin. I was at least one hundred feet away. They could not see me. Before they did spot me, I hurried into my cabin. I took care of my wounds quickly. I had just put my first aid kit back on the shelf when there was a knock on the door. I opened it.<br>"Thank you for your noble efforts," Chiron said gratefully.  
>I smiled modestly. "You really don't have to thank me."<br>"Yes, I do. The whole Ares cabin would also like to thank you."  
>"They really don't have to." I got the humble thing from my mom. My dad is completely self-absorbed. Gotta love him anyway.<br>"Yes, they do. Now, while they decide on their gift to you, I have some business to take care of." He bowed and cantered off.  
>No sooner had he left than Nico and Nick appeared. They gave the usual "Are you crazy? You could have died!" speech that most parents give their kids. I tuned them out. I nodded every now and then, of course.<br>"Monkeys are singing the blues," Nick said.  
>"What?" I asked, confused.<br>"Just making sure you were listening."  
>"Nicholas, when do I not listen to you?"<br>"Every time I tell you to be careful."  
>I shrugged. "True."<br>"And you're not playing Capture the Flag," Nico said sternly.  
>Okay, this was becoming way too much like a conversation with my mom and step dad. "Yes, I am."<br>"No, you're not. Soleil, you have a burn."  
>"Wow, I have a little burn. World stop turning!"<br>"Sol," Nick pleaded, "don't play."  
>Ohhhhhhh, I see what's going on here. Do they really think I am that stupid? "Who gave you two the idea I shouldn't play?"<br>"Norman," Nico replied. "Why?"  
>Nick frowned. "He didn't say that for selfish reasons. He really wants you to rest."<br>"Believe what you want about your brother," I said coolly. "And be sure to tell him I am playing tonight, so he better watch out."  
>I closed the door in their faces before they could respond. It was quite a dramatic way to end the conversation. That is just the way I like it.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Illegally Obtained Cupcakes?

**Chapter 2: Illegally Obtained Cupcakes and Other Fun Things**

I dropped down from my hiding place on a high branch. The tree was right next to the border. I ran across the river and swung up onto another branch before the guards came back. I went carefully from branch to branch, sometimes going higher. My bow and quiver were slung over my shoulder.  
>I heard crashing below. I flattened myself against the tree trunk. It was just Travis Stoll. For a second I had thought a rhinoceros was attempting to tap dance or something. After he was out of sight I continued to move through the trees. A shrill whistle rang through the air. That meant Corrine Shocks, daughter of Aphrodite, was starting her journey through the trees. The plan was for her and me to steal the flag while two attack groups (one of all Ares kids, one of a combination of the others on our team) distracted the guards.<br>I gave Corrine a few minutes to catch up. I saw her a few trees over. We started forward again. As I passed over a group of three guards I shot a stink arrow at them. Before they could see who had shot it I was already long gone.  
>One of the down sides of advancing on an opponent via tree route is that you have to be very careful, which slows you down a little. It took about five more minutes to get to where the flag was hidden. It was on top of a four foot high tree stump in the middle of a large circular clearing. Fifteen guards stood around the edge of the clearing. Five more guards stood closer to the flag. Norman was one of the five that stood closer. He looked like the head honcho of the group.<br>I looked across the clearing at where Corrine was hiding opposite me. She held her hand to her ear then nodded. Less than a second later I heard the raging war cry of the Ares group of attackers. There were about seven, but they could take on two people at once. Go Ares! Go Ares! Go Ares!  
>Three minutes later the second wave came. There were twice as many people in the second group. Every guard was preoccupied. I pulled a rubber arrow with a string wrapped around the end from my quiver. I unwrapped the string so that there was about one hundred feet of it. I set the arrow and shot it at Corrine. She grabbed it. I tied the rest of the string firmly around the tree trunk. Even though the string was practically transparent, it was strong. And slippery. I put on a pair of gloves. I grabbed the string with both hands. I pushed off the branch.<br>Soon, I was weightless. And flying right over the flag. As I sped up I snatched it. Right before I hit the tree Corrine was in I threw the flag up to her. I let go of the string. I landed, surprisingly, on my feet. I heard Corrine taking off through the trees. An arrow flew through the air, straight at the branch Corrine was about to step on.  
>"Corrine!" I screamed.<br>It was too late. The branch snapped under her foot. Corrine fell to the ground. I am guessing she fractured a bone or two, but more importantly, she had dropped the flag. A hand grabbed my shoulder before I could move. I felt the coolness of a sword against my throat. I could not do anything about it. I was helpless. I hate feeling helpless.  
>"Good plan," Norman said. Of course. He just had to be the one who caught me. "but ours is better."<br>I groaned. Norman laughed. Stupid strategically thinking jerk. A few people broke off from fighting the guards to try to get the flag. Out of nowhere a small group of campers appeared. The two groups started to fight. One person, Marcus from the Ares cabin, actually, managed to get the flag and run off. He was probably almost to the river when I heard the very faint distant sound of swords clanging against each other. Then there was a triumphant cheer.  
>Norman lowered his sword. "We win."<br>"Whatever," I sighed. Inside I was really like "GRRR! SHUT UP! I KNOW YOU WON, YOU JERK!" I turned to face him. I wanted to smack that smug smile right off his face. "I just had to look on the bright side."  
>He raised an eyebrow. "And what's the bright side?"<br>"It's party time!"

-

Shortly after the Ares cabin's fire, Chiron and Dionysus had been summoned to Olympus for an emergency meeting. Since it was such short notice they had left the head counselors in charge. Whoever said immortals were smart was an idiot. The Hermes cabin had gone to three different stores to steal soda, chips, pizza, and cake. The food was set up around the fire, which was almost twenty feet high.  
>I poured myself a cup of root beer. I looked around. I spotted Norman talking with some water nymphs. I walked over.<br>"Get lost, naiads," I said coldly, shooing them away. In case you could not tell, I was not particularly fond of them.  
>Norman waved to them as they left. He looked at me. "I heard about what you did with the Ares cabin. It was really nice of you to do that." He looked at his drink. I think it was Dr. Pepper. "I would have told you that earlier, but we weren't really-"<br>"Talking," I finished for him.  
>"Yeah. But, we are now. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"<br>"I don't know. You're the one showering me with compliments. That's not the reason I came over here, but you can continue if you want." A person can only have so much modestly for each day.  
>"I would, if there was anything more to compliment you about."<br>I shot him a look. "Anyway, I came over here to ask you something."  
>"I'm not telling you my Capture the Flag strategies."<br>"Pleeeeeease," I begged.  
>"Nope." He smirked a little. "The only way you'll ever find out is if you side with Athena."<br>"I don't see that happening anytime soon."  
>"Someday your siblings are going to side with Athena without telling you."<br>"I said anytime soon. Maybe, somewhere in the future, we'll side with you."  
>"Good." He held up his drink. "To Soleil, the stubborn mule who I might possibly team up with one day."<br>I tapped my drink against his. "Hurrah!" I took a sip of my root beer. Yummy. "Now, about that stubborn mule thing…"  
>"Oh, here's Heidi?"<br>"The orphan?"  
>He lowered his voice. "No, the Aphrodite girl I kind of like." He raised his voice. "Hey, Heidi," he said as a girl with straight blond hair and blue eyes came over.<br>"Hey, Normy," she said cheerfully. "Who's this?"  
>"This is Soleil Kentley."<br>"Oh, now I recognize you! I've seen you at the archery range a lot. And you help lead the camp sing-alongs."  
>I gave a fake smile. "That's me. I'm kind of hungry, so I'm going to go get an illegally obtained cupcake. You two just stay and talk. Alone. Bye!"<br>I walked away, trying not to laugh. She was the Aphrodite girl stereotype. A lot of them were good musicians or artists or even scholars, but Heidi seemed so…dumb. I bit into my cupcake thoughtfully. I pictured air coming out of Heidi's ears. After I finished my cupcake I went back over to where the two love birds were still chirping away. Someone called Heidi's name.  
>"I have to go," she said sadly. "It was nice meeting you, Soleil."<br>"You too," I said flatly.  
>"Bye, Normy. I'll see you tomorrow."<br>I bit my lip until she was out of earshot. Then I started laughing hysterically. Norman looked at me, bewildered.  
>"Normy," I choked out. "What kind of stupid pet name is that?"<br>He grimaced. "Shut up."  
>"Oh, Normy, don't get so mad."<br>The edge of his mouth twitched. "Sol, stop. You're making a fool of yourself."  
>After a few seconds I composed myself. All the laughing had made me a little bit light-headed. I stepped forward. I tripped over a chip bag. I hit the ground painfully. The bruises I had gotten earlier when I hit the Ares cabin floor, especially the big one on my side, all started to hurt again. I would have new bruises soon. I rolled over. Norman helped me up. I tried to stand on my left foot. I had twisted it.<br>"I'll help you back," Norman said. It was not an offer, but a statement. He looked at the bandage for my burn. "You're getting pretty beat up today, huh?"  
>"I suppose," I sighed.<br>He helped me back to my cabin. But, St. Norman's deed did not end there. A little while later he came back with ice. I propped my ankle up on a pillow and put the ice on it. I leaned back on my headboard.  
>"You can leave now," I told Norman. "One of my brothers will be back soon." Yes, I am the only daughter of Apollo. There were only my six brothers and me.<br>Norman sat on the edge of the bed. "I have to tell you some bad news."  
>"Oh gods, what did Ron do now?" Ron was one of my brothers. He was eleven and could give a nuclear bomb a run for its money when it comes to destruction.<br>"Nothing." He laughed. "Actually, he did-" He glanced at me. "Never mind." He frowned. "Soleil, the Hunters are visiting camp."


	3. Chapter 3: iFreak Out

**Chapter 3: iFreak Out**

I took a deep breath. The Hunters were at camp, which meant Tess was too. Tess, my ex-best friend. Tess, who did not tell me she had yet again decided to join the Hunt. Or that she was a goddess. If she was here that meant I was probably going to see her sometime. And when I did, I was going to give her a piece of my mind. Might as well get it over with as soon as possible. I went to get up. Norman pushed me back down.  
>"You are not going to talk to Tess right now," he said firmly.<br>How does he always seem to know what I am going to do? "Fine."  
>"And I'm staying here until one of your brothers gets back to make sure you rest."<br>"I don't need a baby-sitter." I scowled.  
>"Sure you don't."<br>"I am old enough to take care of myself. As a daughter of Apollo I know all about injuries and when I should rest and I don't need you-"  
>"Save your breath. I'm not leaving."<br>"Fine," I grumbled. After a few seconds I added, "Normy."  
>He frowned. "Don't call me that."<br>"I'm gonna keep calling you that."  
>"No, you're not."<br>"Yes, I am."  
>"No, you're not."<br>"Yes, I am."  
>"No, you're not."<br>"Hey, Ron."  
>Norman turned. "What?" I pushed him off the bed, onto the floor. He stared at me. "What was that for?"<br>"You said you wanted to stay…Normy."

-

I stepped over a broken log. My ankle was perfectly fine today. I had decided to take a stroll through the forest after lunch. Chiron and Mr. D were still gone, so everyone was basically doing whatever they wanted. Including a paint ball fight in the sword-fighting arena.  
>I was at the river when I heard something behind me. I turned. It was Tess. She was wearing a small silver tiara.<br>"Hey," she said meekly.  
>"What do you want?" I asked sharply.<br>"Sol, I'm sorry."  
>"Apology not accepted."<br>"It was over a year ago. Can't you forgive and forget?"  
>"No."<br>"Why not?"  
>"you ran off and joined the Hunt. It's not like you were just running to the store. How would you have felt if I had run off to permanently join some group without even telling you? Or saying good-bye? While you were still stuck in Florida? Then, months later, you discover I was a goddess?"<br>"I would probably be pretty pissed."  
>"Yeah, and the fact that you told the twins really doesn't help your cause." I thought over what I had just said. "I mean, the fact that you told Norman and Nico doesn't help your cause."<br>"I'm sorry. You know that. You know I mean it. The Hunt had to leave and I didn't have time to go back to talk to you."  
>"Whatever."<br>I turned and walked away angrily. I was really pissed now. I need to punch something. I heard Tess following me? Did she really think a stupid apology would work? Some people are so clueless. The thought made me angrier. I did not realize how far I had gone until I walked into the Zeus's fist clearing and…  
>"Oh my gods," I whispered.<br>I ducked back into the forest. I hid behind a tree. Tess looked at me. "Why are you hiding?" she asked. She looked into the forest. "Wow, that's awkward."  
>She hid in the tree next to me. She looked kind of confused. I would be too if I did not know who Heidi was and walked into a clearing and found her sucking Norman's face off. Tess looked at me. She raised an eyebrow.<br>"Heidi, Aphrodite girl," I explained. "Norman likes. She likes him. Obviously." I shuddered. "That had to be the most awkward moment of my life."  
>"At least they didn't see us," she whispered.<br>"Yeah." I giggled quietly. "She calls him Normy."  
>"What kind of stupid nickname is that?"<br>"That's exactly what I said."  
>I looked at Tess. I decided it was time to give up the grudge I had been holding against her. For a price, of course. "I'll forgive you if you help me embarrass Norman."<br>She looked into the clearing. "Fine."  
>"Follow my lead."<br>I burst into the clearing noisily. Heidi and Norman did not notice. Tess followed me, snickering.  
>"HELLO!" I said as I walked more into the clearing. Heidi and Norman jumped away from each other. At least Norman had the decency to look embarrassed.<br>Norman glared at me. "Soleil…" he said through gritted teeth.  
>"Norman," I said, sweet as high fructose corn syrup.<br>"Can we please talk? Yes? Good." He walked towards me.  
>"Tess, why don't you tell Heidi all about the time Norman got his finger stuck up his nose?" I said loudly.<br>"He never did that," Tess whispered.  
>"Make something up," I said quietly as Norman grabbed my arm. He dragged me into the forest.<br>Heidi and Tess began to jab while I was turned into a Raggedy Anne doll. Or so it felt like it. I wrestled my arm free from Norman's grasp so I could just follow him. He did not stop until we were almost to the river. He turned so quickly I walked right into him. I backed up a little. Norman put his hands in his pocket.  
>"Why do you do this to me?" he asked.<br>I was confused. "Do what to you?"  
>"Embarrass me like this. Sol, I really like Heidi."<br>"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that strongly about her."  
>"Well, I do."<br>"I don't see why…"  
>"What?"<br>"Nothing."  
>"So you were just admitting you were jealous?" he teased to lighten the mood.<br>"I am not jealous!"  
>"Surrrre."<br>I pushed him a little. "I'm not!"  
>He held up his hands. "I just said you weren't." he thought for a second. "But you are."<br>"No, I'm not," I sang.  
>"Yes, you are."<br>"I can go all day like this, Señor Annoying. However, I have other commitments. Can you tell Tess to meet me at the archery range when you go back to your Malibu Barbie?"  
>"Fine. And you're so jealous."<br>"So not."  
>I brushed past him. I started skipping across the rocks in the stream. I heard Norman walking back into the forest. As I started back on the path I felt eyes watching me. Stupid dryads. They are such busybodies. But today they seemed…scared. I saw Juniper walking along the path. I went to say hi, but she scampered away. I reached out to stop her. That was when I noticed my burn.<br>I took me a few seconds to realize I was screaming. My heart felt like it was beating right out of my chest. Tears were blurring my vision. My whole body was shaking. I stared at my burn. It had turned to a smoky gray. The shape had turned into a snake. There were two main reasons why I was freaking out: 1) I am deathly afraid of snakes. 2) Burns are not supposed to change into animal shapes!  
>"Sol, what the-" Tess stopped short and gasped.<br>I felt light-headed. I started to sway. Tess grabbed my arm. She barked at a passing satyr to help her bring me back to camp. My vision became spotty. I thought I heard Tess yell for more help before I fell into blackness.

-

"C'mon, Sol, wakey-wakey."  
>I opened my eyes. Tess and my brothers Ron and Byron were looking down at me. I took and deep breath. I started gagging.<br>"Ron!" I choked. "Get a breath mint! Then brush your teeth! What did I tell you about the next time you skipped washing up?"  
>He put his hand over his mouth. "You said you would feed me to the harpies."<br>"Exactly. Now scat!"  
>I sat up. Even though I could feel the tight bandage on my arm I made sure not to look at it. Byron helped me stand up. He was fourteen yet he was a few inches taller than me, and I was five foot nine. I shooed him out of the infirmary so I could talk with Tess alone. The only other person in the infirmary was an older boy who was sleeping. He would have been cute if he did not have boils all over his face and arms.<br>"How long was I out?" I asked Tess.  
>She thought for a moment. "About three hours. The only thing you missed was the announcement that the gods are coming."<br>"Oh." I know I should have been doing cartwheels and stuff, but I had something more important to think about. "Where is Nick?"  
>"Probably in his cabin. Why?" Tess looked confused. And a little bit jealous. Oh my gods, she still liked Nick even after the whole joining the Hunt thing? No wonder he was even more depressed that she had joined than I had been expecting him to be.<br>"I need to talk to him about my burn." For emphasis I raised my left arm.  
>"Really? It's not like you to go to others for medical advice."<br>Medical advice? Did this even fall under that category? Had she not seen what happened to my burn? It was a freaking snake! A bad thought started to creep into my mind. Slowly I said, "What did you see happen to my burn?"  
>Tess fiddled with her ring. "It was just really red and there was some pus. It also looked like it was bubbling or something."<br>My stomach clenched. "Oh gods…"  
>Tess looked at her watch. "Oh gods is right. We better move." She started out of the infirmary. "The Olympians will be arriving soon."<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: The Gods Are In The House!

**Chapter 4: The Gods Are in the House...!**

Chapter 4-The Gods Are in the House…!  
>I bowed to the gods and took my seat on autopilot. My mind was elsewhere. I barely even noticed Chiron had come back. I was too busy thinking about why Tess had not seen the snake. Had it just been my imagination? I lifted my bandage a little. The burn was still smoky and in the shape of a snake. You could see every detail. The scales, the forked tongue, the beady eyes…<br>"Henceforth, we have decided to stop producing offspring."  
>My head snapped up at the last words that had escaped Zeus's mouth. I looked across the table at my older brother Zeke. What? I mouthed. He held up a finger for me to wait. I waited until the lord of the gods finished his farewell speech. To my great surprise, many of the gods stayed. They began walking to the tables where their children were.<br>"Did Zeus say-"  
>"Yes," Zeke said, cutting me off half whisper. "Demigods haven't been on any successful quests since the war with Kronos. That was almost five years ago, I think."<br>"So? Just assign some quests."  
>"He already said that the only way to stop the decree from becoming official was to assign a quest by sunset and for it to be completed successfully in a week or less. Were you listening at all?"<br>"Pft, of course." I waved my hand dismissively. "I was just making sure you were."  
>I stopped talking once my father reached us. He started chatting with the boys about sports. He did not even look at me. In fact, he was sitting on the bench with his back to me. At first I put up with it. After a few minutes I started humming loudly. By the ten minute mark I was pissed and convinced I was invisible to my own father. I still kept quiet. A little while later he got up. He walked away.<br>"Great to see you, too, Dad," I yelled icily. He did not even flinch.  
>I looked around the table at my brothers. They were all careful not to look at me. I stood up stiffly. I walked back to my cabin. I went in. Something caught the corner of my eye as I fell on my bed. After a few seconds I sprang back up. It could not be what I thought it was. It could not be…<br>A piano. It was. Sitting in the corner of the room like it was meant to be there. It was gleaming, solid gold. It had ivory keys. I sat down. I ran my fingers over the keys. The notes hung in the air for a millisecond before silence filled the room again. I picked the card off the top.  
>Thanks.<br>-Ares cabin  
>I stared at the piano. This was amazing. There was no way what I had done was worth a freaking solid gold piano. I played a few notes before getting up to leave. I had to go talk to the Ares cabin. On my way back to the pavilion someone stopped in my path. I recognized her as Hera. She was smiling too sweetly.<br>"Hey, Sol," she said like we were best friends.  
>"Hello, Lady Hera," I said as respectfully as I could when this goddess's mere presence was making me furious.<br>"I heard you have a bad burn. I am really not supposed to do this, but maybe I can help you out. I'd just have one teeny condition." I put my arm behind my back. "Why don't I take a looksy?"  
>"HERA!" A voice bellowed. My dad came running over. Gods run fast. "Get away from her!" Still, he did not look at me. "I forbid you to ever speak to her again!"<br>Hera pouted. "Such a temperamental young boy you are. Forbidding me from talking to her is probably diminishing all hopes of her survival. So sad!"  
>She walked away with a little spring in her step. My heart was beating super fast for about the tenth time that day. How would not talking to her "diminish" all hopes of my survival? Survival of what? Did this have something to do with my burn? I went to say something to my dad but he was looking sideways. Right now I did not give a crap if he could blow me up in an instant if I went off on him.<br>"For gods' sake, look at me!" I screamed. "Talk to me! I'm freaking out because of all the creepy things that are going on lately! I don't need your too cool to care attitude right now! I need a father!" I ripped my bandage off. "Do you see this? I don't know what in Hades it is or what it means but it can't be something good! And what are you doing about it? Shit! That's what you're doing about it! Shit! And you know what? I don't care about that right now. Right now I don't care if you don't talk to me ever. Just look at me!"  
>So he did. He looked at me. A sense of relief washed through me and I smiled. My smile quickly faded when I realized he had changed when he looked at me. His hair had become streaked with gray. There were bags under his eyes. The first signs of wrinkles were showing on his face. I stared at him.<br>"This is why I wouldn't look at you," he said. "I didn't want you to be disappointed." I caught him glance nervously at a group of passing Aphrodite girls.  
>"I'm not disappointed," I assured him. "I'm confused, though."<br>He sighed. "Seeing the future can be awesome, but it can totally suck, too." He looked at my left arm. "I'm sorry."  
>"For what?"<br>"And I promise I will try."  
>"Will try what?" I needed answers. This could possibly be my life on the line. The logical part of me knew it was.<br>"Just forget about it for now."  
>"Seriously? You're telling me forget about something like this?"<br>He gave a small smile. "I have to go. C'mere, give your old man a hug."  
>I hugged him. "Bye, Dad."<br>"Bye, Sol. By the way, part of this look is because of some of the guys you have dated and will date. Have you ever thought about going with a chess player? They don't drive motorcycles or-"  
>I pulled away. "Good-bye, Dad. And for the record, I have never dated anyone with a motorcycle."<br>He tapped his head. "I see all."  
>And with that he was gone. I began walking to the pavilion again. Tess strolled over. She was grinning. We stopped. I asked her why she seemed so cheerful.<br>"Norman and Nick were selected for the quest," she said happily.  
>That was great! Now demigods would not go extinct. And I would have something to get my mind off of everything that had been going on lately. Killing some monsters, traveling with the twins. It was the absolute perfect distraction. Nothing could bring me down now.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: You Said What Now?

**Chapter 5: You Said What Now?**

"You're not going."  
>"What?" I demanded of Nick.<br>"We decided to have Nico come with us," he said quietly. I could tell he was trying to be kind, he always it, but right now it did not matter.  
>"Four people can go."<br>"No, they can't. Only three people. It's the rules."  
>I groaned. "Break the rules."<br>"You seriously just told him that?" Norman asked as he walked into the Arts and Crafts room. "You act so stupid sometimes."  
>I pointed at him. "This is your fault."<br>"How?"  
>"You're probably the one who suggested Nico over me."<br>"He was there, you weren't. We had to get the camper's consent to join us."  
>"I'm so sure."<br>"He's telling the truth," Nick said.  
>"Fine." If Nick said it was the truth it was the truth. I got an idea. "I guess I'll just stay here while you guys are out there fighting monsters and-"<br>"Do not even try to sneak out of camp to follow us," Norman warned.  
>How did he know? "Fine, Mr. Mind-reader. But, I bet if Heidi asked you to go you would make zilch objections."<br>He shrugged. "Probably."  
>"It's too bad the only thing she would want to do would be swap spit with her Normy."<br>He ignored me. "I don't see why you are so bent on going on this quest anyway."  
>I sat back down to finish the arrows I was making. "Just reasons."<br>"What reasons?"  
>"None of your business reasons."<br>"Maybe if you would tell me these 'reasons' I would consider letting you go."  
>"Why does it seem like you're the only member of this quest making any decisions? From what I heard, you and Nick were both granted this quest."<br>"Maybe I'm the only one making decisions because-"  
>"Tess!" Nick exclaimed.<br>I looked over my shoulder. Tess was standing in the doorway. "Hey, Tess," I said with a wave.  
>"Hey," Norman grumbled.<br>"Um, hi," she replied.  
>"Aren't you here to go to the archery range with Sol?" Nick asked.<br>"No, we went earli-…Yeeeeaaah, you know what, I am. Let's go, Sol."  
>"Hang on, I just need to finish a few more arrows."<br>"Alright."  
>I reached for some feathers and froze with my arm in the air. The bandage had fallen partway off my arm, revealing the burn. It must have been a trick of the light because the snake looked like it had moved. I looked at it closely. The snake was writhing like no freaking tomorrow. I felt my blood run cold. I looked at Nick across from me, but he was wrapped up in his work. I looked at Tess, who was examining her bow. I looked down the table at Norman. Sure enough, he was looking at my burn. Who knows what he was seeing happen to it. For all I know, to everyone else it could be rainbow colored and shaped like a pony.<br>I pulled my sweatshirt sleeve down quickly before bolting from the room. All three of my friends called after me, but I ignored them. I raced toward the Big House as fast as I could. I needed to speak to Chiron about this creepy burn. Chiron and Dionysus were playing pinochle on the porch. I jumped over the railing. Chiron looked at me silently.  
>"Is there anything wrong, Soleil?" he asked calmly.<br>"Oh, no, there's nothing wrong," I replied. "I just thought I would stop by for a little chat and of course there's something wrong!" I pulled up my left sleeve. "Does this look normal to you?"  
>Chiron examined the burn closely. "Hm…you're right." Thank the gods he saw it. "It is not heeling as quickly as it should." Whaaaat? "I will examine it more after dinner."<br>With that he left the game and went into the house, probably to wash his hooves before dinner or something. I stared at the door for a second. How had he not seen the writhing snake that my burn had turned into? I took a deep breath. Maybe it was just my imagination acting up. I blinked a few times and then looked at my arm to see that…it was still there. Well, the snake was but it was not writhing anymore at least.  
>"Talk to Hestia."<br>I turned to face Mr. D. "Say what now?"  
>"Talk to Hestia. She's the goddess of the hearth, remember? Gods, you kids are stupid." He took a sip of his Coke. In my opinion, he might want to switch over to diet Coke or Coke Zero. "Whatever you're seeing in that burn, she'll see too."<br>"Why are you helping me?"  
>His face became very grave. "I'm not. Nothing can really help you now, Sarah."<br>Melodramatic, much? I mean, if he was going to go all ominous and spooky on me he could have at least remembered my real name. I started walking toward the pavilion. Other cabins were on their way to dinner already. I hooked up with mine. I made a mental note to speak to Hestia after dinner when there were not that many people around.  
>Dinner seemed to drag on forever. Seriously, I have seen slugs move faster than these people's mouths. I almost got some pom-poms and started cheering "C-H-E-W-N-O-W! WHAT DOES THAT SPELL? CHEW! NOW!" Finally, after the earth had rotated the sun fifty times, everyone was done. Then they all shuffled inch-by-inch to the campfire. Once I was only one left except for a few Hermes kids (I did not want to know what they were doing) I approached Hestia.<br>Before I even spoke Hestia disappeared in flames. "Well, that went well," I said out loud. Out of thin air a hand appeared and slapped me. My head snapped to the side. Suddenly I could not take my eyes off the flames in the hearth.  
>A clip, like form a home video, played in the flames. I saw my dad running through a forest. Then he was crouching in a tree, watching something slither below. Next he as shooting a golden arrow into the head of a giant, ugly snake. Then he was standing on top of the snake, being yelled at by Zeus in what seemed like a half-hearted manner.<br>A hand tapped my shoulder. I turned to face Hestia, kind of afraid she would hit me again because apparently gods have this thing against just asking you to look at something. I was about to ask her why she had shown me the clips, but she held up a hand to silence me. She grabbed my arm, pushing back the sleeve. I looked down at the snake. It was the same one as in the clips in the fire.  
>"Python is back," she said. "He tunneled under came and tried to come up through the Ares cabin. He only managed to cause a fire. You are burned, so you are branded. When your bun moves, it means Python is moving and gaining power."<br>Like, whoa. "But…" I tried to decide which words to use. "Why is everyone making it seem like I have to do something dangerous?"  
>"I wish I could tell you. All I can give you is one piece of advice: Be alert. Always."<br>She vanished in flames again, this time for good. I decided to skip the campfire tonight. I was not in a singing mood, which proved I was really preoccupied. Not being able to go on the quest seemed petty now. Something was going to happen soon that I knew would probably result in my death.


	6. Chapter 6: I Do the Unthinkable

**Chapter 6: I Do the Unthinkable**

I trudged up the hill. The sun had just started rising. I could make out the shapes of Nick, Norman, and Nico at the top of the hill. Chiron was talking to them. A light breeze made me put on my sweatshirt I had tied around my waist. When I got up to the top of the hill I gave Nick and Nico a hug and told them to be careful. I tapped Norman's arm and motioned for him to follow me. I walked about twenty yards away from the others before stopping. I folded my arms as another breeze gave me a little chill.  
>"What do you know about Python?" I asked.<br>"He's a serpent-like god of chaos," Norman explained without hesitation. "He leaves death and destruction in his wake. Apollo, well, your dad, killed him."  
>"Are there any myths associating him with the children of Apollo?"<br>"No. Sol, what's this about?"  
>"What did you see happen to my burn the other day?"<br>"It was like…shining?"  
>"Wow…" I rubbed my temples. "Ugh, this is so confusing."<br>"What is?"  
>"Nothing. Never mind. Just let me know when you get back from the quest."<br>"You'll be here."  
>I shook my head. "It's the last day of summer session. I am going back to Furrows tomorrow."<br>"Oh. Well, good luck."  
>"You too." We tapped knuckles before he started back towards the group. "Norm! Wait!"<br>He turned. "Look, Sol, I really have to go."  
>I walked over to him quickly. "Yeah, I know. It's just…if…if something happens to me before I come back to camp, will you promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to destroy Python?"<br>His eyes widened. "Are you saying…oh my gods…"  
>"You have to go." I started pushing him away. "You're already behind schedule and the Garden of Hesperides does not run on your schedule."<br>He stopped me. "Soleil, is-"  
>"You were the one telling me to stop talking to you so you could go and now you're talking to me. Now go!"<br>He looked at me for a second. Out of absolutely nowhere I kissed him. It only lasted for about three seconds, maybe ten, but that was way longer than it should have. When I pulled away Norman was looking at me mockingly with those gorgeous, I mean, stupid, stormy gray eyes.  
>"See? Your mere presence is making me insane!" I told him. "Now git!"<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Stupid Substitute Teacher

_**Chapter 7: Monster Dust Is Hades on My Hair**_

One hundred thirty-three, one hundred thirty-four, one hundred thirty-five. I continued counting the snowflakes that fell on my windowsill in my Latin class. Half the other students were asleep. At least I had the respect to stay awake. One hundred thirty-six…

"Ms. Kentley?" Mr. Fischer, my Latin teacher, asked in his droning voice.

"Yup?" I replied.

"Could you please tell me the animal-like god of chaos?"

My hand flew to my left forearm. "Python."

"Very good. Now who was the god that killed Python?"

"Apollo."

"Very good."

Suddenly Mr. Fischer's head transformed into a snake head. I reached for my backpack where I kept my bow, arrow, and knife at the bottom. A snake tail shot out from behind the desk Mr. Fischer was standing at. It knocked my backpack clear across the room. My bow flew out, snapping in half as it hit the wall. The tail shot out again. I have one word for that tail: moisturizer. Before I could duck out of the way the tail wrapped around my neck. It continued to get tighter the more I struggled. I gasped for breath but every time it closed a little bit more…

I jolted awake to the sound of the class bell. Everyone else in the back row of my history class woke-up, too. We always take a little snooze when there's a sub. Today's sub's name was Ms. Dodds or something like that. She was middle-aged, yet she wore a leather jacket. I swung my backpack on my shoulder as I began to stand up.

"Ms. Kentley, please remain seated," Ms. Dodds said. I realized she had a Southern accent. Well, that explained my earlier dream about playing football… "You and I have something to discuss."

She waited until everyone left the room before moving again. She walked over to the door and locked it. As you can guess, this put me on hyper-alert. I unzipped my backpack and gripped my knife at the bottom. I had know idea who, or what, Ms. Dodds was, but instinct told me it was not something good at all. She started walking down the row of desks toward the one where I was sitting.

"Sleeping in class is not tolerable, Soleil," she said sweetly. "I would like to speak with your father about this. Where would he happen to be?"

"In a grave, where he's been for the past twelve years," I said coolly.

"So sad to lose your father at such a young age. Just four years old, were you?" She looked out the window absently. "I feel sorry for all those children who lose their parents young." Her head snapped back to face me. "Which means I don't feel sorry for you!" She started running toward me. Oh, yeah, and on the way she kind of turned into, you know, a flying hag. "Where is Apollo?"

I rolled out of my seat, holding my knife up as a shield. The Fury advanced on me more. I scrambled back.

"Where is he?" she demanded in her grating voice.

"I don't know!" I yelled back weakly.

"Liar!" She swooped down and grabbed my left arm. "You are connected to the beast!"

My sweater sleeve slid down, revealing the smoky snake on my arm. It was not moving. It had not moved at all since that day in the Arts and Crafts room. I stabbed at the Fury's wrist so she would let go. While trying to avoid stabbed in the wrist, she moved her arm. My knife cut through the air, missing her arm, but embedding itself deep in her side.

"Bye-bye, birdie," I said half-heartedly.

The Fury crumbled into sand. I stood up and brushed the monster dust off my uniform. I fixed my black vest and skirt then buttoned the cuff of one of my sleeves. I grabbed my backpack. At the door I checked my reflection in the small window. The stupid monster had gotten its dust in my hair. I hated when that happened. It always left my scalp itchy.

I took my hair out of its braid and shook it out to get rid of the monster dust before leaving the classroom. Everyone was filing into their classes. I started to sprint down the hall. I stopped for a second at the top of the stairs. The class was two floors down. I would definitely be late, even if I ran down the stairs. If I was late one more time, I would get detention.

I jumped on the banister sideways. I started sliding down the mahogany railing that all us elite boarding schools have. I jumped off at the end and started running down the hall again. I managed to grab the door just as Mr. Fischer was starting to close it.

"Ms. Kentley, I trust you have a good reason for being late," Mr. Fischer said obnoxiously.

I was not in the mood for this guy's annoyingness right now. "Well," I sighed, sarcasm dripping from every word, "I was just so excited for your class that I came running. Then I tripped and snapped my neck. I think my legs are broken, too. And I almost forgot the best part: I killed a Fury."

"One week's detention for sassing a teacher and running in the halls. Now tell me why you were really late."

"Ms. Dodds held me back."  
>His brow furrowed. "Who is Ms. Dodds?"<p>

"The history sub."

"The gym teacher, Mr. Radcliffe, is the substitute teacher for history today."

"Whatever."

I walked into the noisy classroom. I sat in the seat in front of my friend Max. He could have passed as my brother with his blond hair and gold-flecked blue eyes. Mr. Fischer came in, trying to get everyone to calm down and be quiet. It did not work at all. I turned to face Max after Mr. Fischer finally got the class to pay attention and start reciting the warm-up.

"When did we get a new gym teacher?" I asked him.

"Never," he whispered back.

"Who's Mr. Radcliffe, then?"

He stared at me. "Sol, stop kidding around."

"What?"

"Mr. Radcliffe has been our gym teacher all semester."

I faced forward again, leaning back a little in my chair. Our gym teacher this semester had been a man named Mr. Goni. He was tall and mean and always made us play dodgeball. I hated him. But, why did no one remember him? Or Ms. Dodds? The only reason no one would be able to remember Ms. Dodds would be if someone had manipulated the Mist. I had not done that yet.

"Now, since it is exciting Mythology Monday," Mr. Fischer said in monotone, "we will discuss Ancient Greek mythology." I plopped my notebook on my desk, knowing this was going to be one extremely boring class. "We'll go around the class. Say a god or goddess. The one mentioned the most will be the one we learn a myth about."  
>He had a go down the rows. I was in the third row, fourth seat. I had time to think. Obviously there was another demigod at Furrows. They must have gone to Camp Half-blood to know how to manipulate the Mist. I would recognize them if they went to camp. Yesterday I had been sick and had not left my dorm room all day. I made a mental note to check for any new faces at dinner.<p>

"Ms. Kentley?"

"Apollo and Athena," I answered absently.

"Why?" Mr. Fischer inquired.

Had he asked everyone else that? " Uh…"

His eyes twinkled weirdly. "Do you have a special connection to them?"

My stomach twisted in a knot nervously. "No."

"Of course not. Mr. Flier?"

Max smiled brightly. "I'd have to say Hats and Atticus," he said.

Everyone went silent. We all turned in our seats to look at him. Max had said a lot of stupid things before so this was not that shocking but we were still all a little curious to see what the source of his confusion was this time. Mr. Fischer cleared his throat with a smirk.

"I think you mean Hades and Artemis," I whispered to him.

He looked down at his textbook. It was open to the list of gods. It had their names in English and in Ancient Greek. "I thought it said…" He trailed off. He dragged his finger along the page. He stopped when it was under the Ancient Greek. "Right." He looked up again. "Hades and Artemis."

"Okay," Mr. Fischer said slowly. He got that same weird twinkling look in his eyes. "Next."

A few minutes later Mr. Fischer turned his back to us to write something on the board. I turned around in my seat to talk to Max again.

"Are you dyslexic?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno. If I do, it's undiagnosed."

"Interesting…"  
>I turned to face forward again. Mr. Fischer cleaned his glasses. After he looked over the class for a few seconds he began to tell us the myth of the birth of Athena. And I began zoning out.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8: The Boys Are Back

_**Chapter 8: The Boys Are Back**_

I kissed my boyfriend, Logan, on the cheek as I sat down next to him at the table. He smiled at me then went back to reading his history textbook. He is in all the highest classes and hear on an academic scholarship so he is always studying. Ana sat down across from me. Her long black hair was in a side ponytail. She had managed to fix her lip gloss and sit down while balancing her food tray with one hand. She was a master of this move.

"_Hola_," she said to me. "_¿Que tal?_"

"Thinking," I replied.

Out of nowhere Max vaulted over the table, right next to me. He got his balance then fell into the seat next to Ana.

"Those two are freaking awesome!" he exclaimed. "He's got the best arm I've ever seen!" He leaned across the table and hit Logan's arm. "We've got to get him on the baseball team."

"It's not just his arm," Ana said with a grin. "All of him is the best I've ever seen."

Max and Ana started talking animatedly about "them" and "him". Max was talking about how freakishly athletic the two "guys" were, and Ana was talking about how hot they both were. Neither was really listening to the other, obviously. I was totally lost.

"Who are they talking about?" I asked Logan.

"Two new kids," he replied. "One of them seems pretty cool. The other kind of creeps me out."

"Why?"

"He's all dark and-"

"Mysterious," Ana interjected with a little tilt in her head. "Really mysterious. His hair falls into his eyes to perfectly. And his smile is amazing…The other is totally gorgeous, too. I got close enough to see his eyes. They made me melt inside. They were so intelligent."

"Moving on," Logan said quickly. "I have to go study. See you guys later."

I kissed him again. "Bye." After he left I turned back to Ana and Max. "These two kind of sound familiar. They remind of me of two guys I know. Except Ana's descriptions are a little off from the two I know, so-"

Ana jumped up suddenly. "Yoohoo!" she yelled across the cafeteria. She waved her arms wildly. "Over here!" She sat back down quickly. "They're coming over. How do I look?"

"Amazing, darrrrrling," I said with a British accent.

"I think she looks atrocious," Max commented.

Ana elbowed him then picked up his spoon. She tried to get something only she could see out of her teeth. After she was finished she flung the spoon backwards. I forget if it hit someone or not. She put on her famous beauty pageant smile. Max stared at his soup sadly.

"Now how am I supposed to eat it?" he wondered aloud.

"You could slurp it," I offered.

"But there're chunks of chicken so that would be hard."

"Maybe you could use a fork to eat the chicken, and then slurp the broth."

"Genius idea, Sol."

"Want to know what would be even geniuser?" Ana asked with apparent annoyance.

"Never saying geniuser again because it's not a word."

"If I recall correctly," a male voice behind me said, "you are not exactly one to always use words that exist."

My heart dive-bombed into my stomach. I made my face remained blank. I knew that voice. I placed my hands on the table carefully and stood up slowly. I turned to face Norman. I knew there must be a reason he was there. I would have bet any money it was not a good reason.

"We need to talk," he said grimly.

"Where there are fewer people," Nico added.

I pushed past them. I went down the hall outside the cafeteria until I got to the stairs. I went up two at a time. On a landing was on door. I pushed it open. It was the green house. I walked in a little, took a seat on a wicker bench, and waited for Nico to shut the door.

"Nice in here," Norman remarked, sitting next to me. "So, how've you been?"

"Just tell me why you're here," I ordered. I zipped up my sweatshirt. It seemed way colder than usual in the green house.

"You're dad has gone missing." He held up his hand to quiet me before I even said anything. "I want you to wait until I'm finished. He went missing shortly after it was officially announced by the gods that Python was alive again, which was about a week after we got back from the quest. I remembered you asking me about Python before the quest so I went to talk to Rachel. She told me her powers were acting up lately. I guessed this was because of Python. People think he has your dad captive. You do know what this means, right?"

I looked at my left forearm. I lifted the sleeve. The snake was not moving. "Not really," I admitted.

"You still have that burn?" Nico asked.

Something told me not to tell them the burn's special connection to Python. "Different burn, same place. You know me, I'm a klutz."  
>He nodded uncertainly. "Uh-hunh, whatever you say."<p>

"What does this mean?" I asked Norman before they became too caught up in my burn. I pulled down my sweatshirt sleeve.

Norman took a deep breath. "You have to destroy Python."

I started laughing. "You…" I chocked out, "think I…could…defeat Python?" I looked at him. My laughing stopped immediately after I saw his face. "Oh dear gods, you're serious."

"Would I joke about something like this?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I would, but-"

I noticed something under one of the tables with flower pots on it. I walked over. My blood started going cold the closer I got to the table. I pushed some of the plants out of the way so I could was what was underneath the table. There was something curled up in a long black parka. I could just barely see under the hood that was pulled up. One strand of frizzy red hair hung out.

"Rachel," I gasped. I leaned forward and pushed back her hood. Her skin was ghost white, cold as marble. I felt for her pulse along her neck, then her wrist. Nothing. "Norman!"

***Author's Note***

**Please review! I really want to hear what you guys think of the story so far. :)**


	9. Chapter 9: I Get in a High Speed Chase

My watch alarm went off. I got out of bed and changed into my jeans and shirt. I looked at the clock: 3:30. That was early, even for me. I put on two sweatshirts and my boots. When I took my backpack out from under my bed I made sure that I had all the necessary items: bow, quiver full of arrows, knife, clothes, ambrosia, nectar, drachmas, mortal cash, teddy bear, etc. I had to go on a mini-adventure to find my winter coat in the closet before I was finally able to leave the dorm room, closing the door silently behind me.

After finding Rachel's dead body I finally believed that I had to kill Python. It was like a sign, one that I realized with a shudder I had been subconsciously waiting for and dreading. In Ancient Greece, the Oracle always resided in a temple over the hill where Python had been buried after my father killed him. It was not a surprise that Python would kill whoever the current Oracle was as soon as possible, but probably not until after he had dealt with my father.

I knew that tomorrow everyone would be freaking out that I was gone. I had not told Norman and Nico I was leaving, mostly because I had not seen them at all since I fled from the green house after seeing Rachel. I had promptly thrown up once I reached a trash can, then I had skipped detention to think and pack for my trip. I had managed to keep all evidence of my leaving away from Ana.

I had only left a note to Ana on my pillow, telling her not to worry, that I would be fine. I was afraid that I would wake her when I was getting ready because she is such a light sleeper, but she had not moved at all. It left me with a sense of relief, but I had some underlying suspicion.

I walked down the halls on tip-toe. I took the stairs down the three flights it took to get to the main floor's lounge area. I let my eyes adjust as best they could to the darkness before taking a careful step. I moved slowly, trying the best I could to avoid bumping into any furniture. I was half-way across the room when the lights came on, making my heart stop and my stomach turn. I turned around slowly.

Ana was leaning against the wall next to the light switch, totally decked out in a pink fluffy robe and bunny slippers. Her hair was in pig-tail braids so she looked almost ten years younger than usual.

"_¿Adónde vas?"_ she asked sternly. "Where are you going?"

"I'm sleepwalking," I tried.

"No, you're not."

I waved my hands as I made a whimsical sound. "It's all a dream…"

"Seriously?"

"Uh…you're hallucinating?"

"Not going to work, Sol."

"I'm all out of excuses. You caught me. Now you can take me to the headmaster like a good little schoolgirl."

She laughed, but it was reluctant. "I'm not going to turn you in." She walked over suddenly to hug me. "Just be careful. _Tienes cuidado_." She backed away slowly. She put three fingers like a claw over her heart and pushed outward. "I have a very bad feeling."

I started a little when she made the sign of protection. "How did you know what that means?"

She looked a little flustered. "I don't know. It just…seemed like the right thing to do."

"Mhmmm..." I backed up toward the door. "See you soon, Ana. Hopefully."

"Adiós."

I turned and pushed open the door to leave the dormitories. Outside the wind was howling around me so loudly that I did not even hear the door close behind me. I began walking in the direction of the large gates that led out of the academy. The wind started pushing me to the left. No, seriously, the wind was going at least eighty miles per an hour and I could not fight it at all. I cursed the wind gods, which only made the wind blow even faster and harder.

"I'm going, I'm going," I muttered.

I veered to the left until the wind finally died down. I continued walking in a straight line until I came to a large square building that had fumes of gas and oil hanging around it. It was the school's garage. In the moonlight I was able to see the three garage doors. I waited for the wind gods to give me some more guidance, but when none came, I decided to just go with the first option. I wrenched open the door that had a large number "1" painted on it.

My breath caught when I saw the gleaming new car sitting there in front of me. I checked a few times but there was no emblem on the grill or hood to show which company it had come from. I walked around the car slowly, just in case there was some sort of trap around it. When I heard something behind me I spun, striking a karate pose. The noise had only been a drift of snow falling off the roof. I continued walking around the car, inspecting it. It was an SUV, all black, with tinted windows and chrome.

I poked the handle of the driver's side door cautiously. When no bombs went off or birds started attacking me, I opened the car door. I got into the leather driver's seat, tossing my bag in the back. I bounced around in the seat a little. Comfy. There was already a key in the ignition. When I turned it, the seat I was in began vibrating.

"Oooohhhhh…Massaaaaage chaaair."

I looked around for the button to turn the massage off. After I clicked it, I noticed something hanging from the key. I took a closer look at the keychain to see that it was a silver "H". H for Hephaestus. Awesome, but really confusing. Why was Hephaestus, and the wind gods, trying to help me? I absently turned on the radio while I thought

"For my sake, drive, you little demigod," a growling voice barked over the radio speaker, then it flicked to a rock station.

I jumped at the sound of the voice. Obediently I pulled the gear shift into drive. I had only turned sixteen two weeks ago so technically I should not be driving because I was going to be getting my license over Christmas break, which was only a week away. Now I might not even live until then.

"Happy thoughts, Sol," I told myself, "happy thoughts."

I pulled out of the garage very, very, very slowly. I probably drove about two miles an hour down the road that led from the garage to the school's gate. Once I got to the gate a huge gust of wind rattle the car and blew open the gates with ease. I drove through them at _three_ miles per hour. I was just a speed demon now, wasn't I?

I sped up a little bit more as I got farther and farther away from the school. The road was paved, but dirt and salt crystals covered most of it. I was almost on the highway when I changed the radio station to my favorite one. By chance, I glanced in the rearview mirror. A car with their headlights on was behind me, and Mr. Fischer was in the driver's seat.

I drove at the same speed I had been going until I got to the highway. That was when I did what most teenagers do their first time on the highway without an adult supervisor: I floored it. The car's response was perfecto, I might add. I heard Mr. Fischer's car engine roar as he tried to follow me. I managed to get my car to go a little bit faster.

I took the exit that would lead to Albany. Originally I was going to go to Camp Half-blood to get some more info about my dad's whereabouts, but there was no way I was leading this snobby teacher there, because something told me that was exactly what he wanted. Instead, however, I was going to lead him to wherever the hell I felt like it until he ran out of gas, which was something I had a feeling would not happen to me. After I got him stranded in the middle of nowhere, I would go back to trying to find my dad so I could save him from a creature of mass destruction, if the creature had not gotten to him first, that is.

I checked the rearview mirror again. I was expecting Mr. Fischer to be far, far behind me, but he was only about twenty feet back. I checked the speedometer on my dashboard. I was going one twenty. The highest number it showed I could go was two-fifty, but the gas pedal was already flat on the floor of the car. How could I possibly get the car to go faster? I looked at the gear shift. There was another gear, a T. Did that stand for turbo? I was about to find out.

"Whoa!" I yelled as the car suddenly went into turbo drive after I changed gears.

I gripped the wheel so hard my knuckles went white. The road was flying by fast enough to make someone sick. Up ahead I thought I saw something glowing faintly with a silvery glow. The thing was about one hundred meters away so it took me some time to figure out that it was not just a thing but a person. I instantly slammed the brakes. The car swerved recklessly. I almost ripped the steering wheel off of the dashboard as I tried to control it. The car finally stopped. I jumped out, breathing heavily. I looked back to see Mr. Fischer's headlights getting closer again.

I heard a small noise. I looked at the car to see Tess was hoisting herself onto the roof. She planted her feet firmly was she was standing up there, her bow appearing in her hand. An arrow appeared on the string a she raised the bow. She shot less than a second after it appeared. I heard one of Mr. Fischer's tires explode. Three more arrows appeared on Tess's bow at the same time. She shot again, this time one arrow hit Mr. Fischer's second front tire so that the car swerved and the other two arrows hit the two back tires. I so needed to learn how to do that.

"Since when can you get real arrows on that thing?" I asked Tess as she jumped off the car.

She shrugged. "My mom gave me an upgrade when I joined the Hunt. I can now get real arrows, gold arrows –which are total pains, by the way-, flaming arrows, blunt arrows, and stink arrows. Oh, that reminds me." An arrow appeared on the string as she turned to aim it at Mr. Fischer's car. It flew through the air, breaking a window. I saw a little cloud erupt and heard him gagging from where I was. "Perfect."

"How did you know to be here?" I asked Tess as her bow disappeared.

"I'm a goddess, remember?"

"Artemis told you, didn't she?"

"Maybe…Well, she just told me a demigod hunter was in this area, but I didn't know he would be hunting you."

"He was a demigod hunter?" I had heard of demigod hunters before but they were rare and this was my first ever encounter.

"Yeah. He was probably the last thing you needed right now." She glanced at the car. "You're going after him?"

"After I go back to camp and find out if anyone's heard from Apollo at all."

She shook her head. "That's a bad idea. The camp is in turmoil. We recently recruited a girl who ran away from there. She said everyone's fighting. Some want to go to war with Python, others want to look for Apollo, and the rest just want to stay and train."

"I still need to see if they've heard from my father."

"Artemis has not heard from him in months. As twins she and Apollo share the strongest type of empathy link, and though she has not shown any signs that Python has destroyed Apollo, she is growing weaker with each day, I can tell."

"So I guess I just better start, huh?"

"Yes, you should. Just out of curiosity, how's Norman?"

"Annoying."

"Nick?"

"In Florida."

"Nico?"

"Quiet."

She nodded then looked up at the stars. "I better leave if I want to make it back before breakfast. Good luck, Sol, and be careful."

"I will, Tess."

I got my second good-bye and good luck hug of the night before I got back into the car as Tess ran off into the forest. I turned the car around, heading down the highway again. I should have talked to Chiron before leaving camp this summer. My grip tightened on the wheel suddenly. All the gods knew Apollo was missing! All of the gods knew about Python! Why could they not get off their lazy, godly asses and deal with it _themselves_?

The car died. Just like that, it died. I turned the key in the ignition but nothing happened. I tried about fifteen more times. It was totally dead. This was just absolutely fantastic. I grabbed my bag off the seat and hopped out. No wind directed me where to go this time. I explicitly cursed every wind god individually. A gust of wind that felt like a smack in the face hit me.

I stormed down the road aimlessly. When my feet started aching a few hours later I found a bike path. I started along it but veered off it after a few minutes to find a place to rest. Dawn was already starting to come, but I was exhausted. While I was looking for a place to sleep a strong breeze made a branch fall off a nearby tree, almost hitting me. Hm, I wonder why that could have happened. I crawled up into a tree carefully. I hung my bag on a branch next to the large one I was sitting on. I prayed the wind gods would not make a breeze come to knock me off the branch or make the branch break. It was a twenty foot fall from where I was to the ground. I tied my knife sheet with my knife in it to my arm so it would be at the ready if I needed it. I held my quiver with my bow and arrows in it as I leaned against the trunk of the tree. I eventually fell into a restless sleep with dreams of snakes.


	10. Chapter 10: I Was Never a Chimera Person

_**Chapter 10: I Was Never a Chimera Person**_

_Yip! Yip!_

I had been half-awake for about an hour when I heard the high-pitched barking coming from below me. I stretched, rubbing my eyes to get the last bits of sleep out of them. I forced myself to get out of the tree. The little yapping dog was a Chihuahua. It did not appear to be rabid so I approached it, still being a little cautious in case it was just a mean dog. It looked really hungry. I was still too tried to register I was hungry or not myself.

"Hey little buddy," I murmured to the dog. "Are you lost?"

The dog backed up, barking loudly. I ran my fingers through my hair, realizing it was completely tangled. The little guy was probably afraid of me. I put my hair up into a ponytail, but the dog still growled at me with bared teeth. I took a step back in, a little startled. Maybe it was rabid. Then it started growing, which made me laugh nervously. What Chihuahua grows like that? Was he on doggie steroids or something? And what was up with his tail? Why was it-…My brain finally woke up.

"Chimera," I whispered to myself.

I pressed my back against the tree, pulling my knife out. The Chimera was in its full size. It roared right in my face. Nothing wakes you up quite like Chimera breath, trust me. It opened its mouth wider, probably hoping to get a nice helping of Sol for breakfast. I dodged to the side quickly. The Chimera breathed out a huge jet of fire, setting the tree on fire, including my bag. I ran through the trees to get more distance between the monster and I. It lumbered after me.

I managed to make it back to the bike path and sprinted down it as fast as I could. I startled many riders, but what startled them even more was whatever they saw the Chimera as through the Mist. I took a risk and spun, backpedaling as the Chimera got closer. I threw my knife so it hit implanted itself in the Chimera's shoulder. I turned back around again and almost tripped on a large rock. Who puts a large rock in the middle of a bike path?

I reached the start of the path, where it opened into the park. I kept on running. People ignored me until they saw the Chimera, or whatever it is they wanted to call what they were seeing. After they saw it they promptly joined me in running for their life, but the Chimera was not interested in them. I thought I saw some guy doing a rain dance, and wondered what he could possibly think rain would do us at this moment. I pulled my bow and an arrow from my quiver before jumping up onto a picnic table and turning to take aim. I shot. The arrow hit the Chimera in its right eye.

I jumped off the table before the Chimera breathed on it to make it go up in flames. Yet again I tried to make the distance between us wider, but it was still hard, even with the Chimera only able to see out of one eye. I shot another arrow at him while on the run. It hit his paw. That is the one bad thing about arrows: you usually have to take a few shots to kill the monsters trying to kill you. Unless you hit the monster's heart or brain, which was a little hard for me to do right now. I glanced back as I continued sprinting. My legs were beginning to burn.

I finally found my chance. I used a picnic table as a springboard onto the top of a vending machine. I jumped the couple of feet onto the roof of the building for the bathrooms. I turned to face the Chimera. IN a millisecond my target was locked in my mind. I shot quickly. The arrow flew right into the Chimera's skull. Cue disintegration. I did a little happy dance, still on the roof, and put my bow away. I jumped back onto the vending machine, and then onto the picnic table. I ended up falling off the picnic table. I can be clumsy sometimes, what can I say?

"Thank you," I told the pile of monster dust as I took my knife back, placing it back in its sheath.

I strolled back to where the tree I had slept in once stood. I scattered the ashes with my foot before suddenly melting to my knees. What could I do now? All my means of survival were now ashes. I could go back to camp, but Chiron would think I was just some camper eager for a quest and would not let me leave camp again. I considered for a second going to Mount Olympus to ask for help, but the gods were now angry at me and would turn me into human fireworks. I could go home but then I would feel like I was giving up. When I heard my father was missing and Python possibly had him I knew I had to find him so I went. I just never answered one question: how?

A twig snapped to my left. In a second I was standing at the ready, my bow set. I saw something move in the shadows. My blood boiled with sudden anger and an urge to fight. I pulled the string back, focusing on the dark shadow moving closer. I let go of the string. The shadow ducked with inhuman speed to avoid being hit by my arrow. Finally the shadow stepped forward into full view.

"Is that a challenge, hero?" he asked.

The man wore ripped jeans with combat boots and a leather jacket. He had a marine style haircut and build that was pretty intimidating. His muscles were making me increasingly uneasy the more I saw them. He wore wraparound sunglasses so you could not see his eyes at all. He was grinning, but the look did not fit him.

"Who are you?" I asked as respectfully as I could, but he still scowled. I knew he was Ares, but I just wanted to make sure.

"Do you really not know who I am?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed. Okay, sounding very annoyed. "C'mon, demigod! Leather jacket, boots." He lowered his sunglasses to reveal that his eyes were on fire, literally. "Still, no? Hello! Fire in my eyes! Like anger!"

"I'm definitely sensing some anger here."

He growled. "Maybe this will help." He pulled a spear that was crackling with electricity from behind his back, holding it high in the air. "Now do you know?"

"Duh! You're Zeus!"

"You know what, Blondie, I should skewer you right-"

"But I'm too young to die, Ares!"

"So you do know who I am?"

"Yeah, the bad smile gave it away."

"Don't get smart with me, hero!"

I pretended to shiver. "Or what? You'll poke with me with the spear you're holding backwards?" As you can tell, his presence was really ticking me off.

"Hey! It is not-" He flipped the spear around. "It is not backwards!"

I slid my bow back into my quiver. "Why are you here?"

He pointed to the ground. "You should be praising me, not asking such stupid questions."

"Why are you here?"

"I was running an errand for my girlfriend and decided to stop by to ask you a little…favor."

"Wait…since when do cardboard cut-outs have errands?"

"Let's just get this over with."

He snapped his fingers so I was sent backwards into a chair before everything around me began spinning, making me a little dizzy. When it stopped, the forest had become a burger joint. Ares sat across from me in the booth we were at. I looked out the window at the busy street, wondering what city we were in. A metal song began playing loudly from around Ares's side of the booth. He pulled a Blackberry Torch out of his phone to answer it.

"Hey, Aphrodite," he answered, a little bit irritated. "Yes, I am…I know, I will…I'm just making a quick stop!...Fine…No…No…I won't say it!" With that, he hung up.

"So…" I said, looking at him expectantly.

"I got a little proposal for you."

"Why me?"

"I've heard you don't take crap from gods, which is a trait I admire. Besides, you could get some good out of this."

I paused for a few minutes. "What's the proposal?"

"I let Hermes borrow my spear about a week ago (the one I had earlier was a replica), and he made a delivery to the Underworld while he had it. He lost it somewhere along the River Styx. I want you to retrieve it for me."

I could not believe how much I was actually considering this. "What's in it for me?"

"I'll take care of Python, and find Apollo."

I tapped the table. "How will I know you'll do it and that you won't find a loophole?"

"When does the god of war pass up a good battle?"

"Then why don't you do it now?"

"No spear."

I weighed my options. Doing this would mean I would risk my life to save myself from risking my life. However, in the long run, this seemed safer. I at least knew where the River Styx was, as opposed to my lack of knowledge of Python's whereabouts. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Okay, good." A backpack appeared in the seat next to me. "This should have everything you need." Ares's phone went off again. "Hello?...Oh, hey, Athena!...Yes, I know I am supposed to be at the arena right now…Yes, I know you hate waiting…I am speaking with a young hero right now, that's what I'm doing…Which one? Uh, one of Apollo's kids. Soleil or something…Oh, really, they do? Yeah, I don't care…Fine…I know, I know, Athena…Bye." He ended the call before looking back up at me. "You know how to get to the Styx, right?"

"Yup." Kind of.

"Okay. Well, I'll be on my-"

"Swear on the River Styx you'll find and destroy Python and find my dad if I get your spear."

"You're smarter than most kids. I swear on the River Styx." There was a loud thunderclap that made the ground shake a little.

I nodded. "Good day, then."

He vanished instantly. Everything spun around me again until I was standing in front of a building with the backpack on my shoulder. There was a podium outside the door with a man standing behind it. I walked over. I tried to read the guy's fancy nametag. After an agonizingly long time I thought I had it, but, of course, I did not.

"My name is Charon," the man said.

"Chiron?" I questioned. "But he's a centaur on the other side of the country that trains demigods."

He groaned loudly. "It's Charon! A not I! All you heroes are the same! Hard of hearing and _alive_." He said the last part like it was a disgrace.

"Look, can you just get me to the River Styx?"

"Um, let me think about it, noooooo."

"Pretty please? Are sent me."

"Well, haven't heard that one in a while."

"He did, though!"

"In that case…" I smiled hopefully. "No!"

I remembered a few myths and stories I had heard about Charon. "Are you easily bribed?"

"Whatcha got?"

I checked my bag and found some drachmas. I pulled out ten, dropping them into his hand. "Can you take me to the Styx?"

"No," he said with a smirk.

Sometimes force works far better than money and bribery. I pulled my knife out of its sheath. I grabbed Charon's tie, pulling him forward. I placed my knife against his neck, pressing down a little bit. He seemed completely unfazed. Since that was not working, I placed it against his tie. He shrieked.

"Okay, fine, I'll take you!"

I put my knife away. "Good. And all you have to do is drop me off along the shore."

"Fantastic." He smoothed his tie lovingly. "You daughters of Ares are so forceful."

"I'm a daughter of Apollo, not Ares."

He looked at me gravely. "I would have let you in right away if you said that first."

There was an unpleasant drop in my stomach after he said that. If the doorman to the dead was sympathizing for me then whatever trouble Apollo had gotten himself into this time was really bad. Still, the almighty gods had to let a hero deal with it. Well, in this case a heroine. Why could Zeke not have to do this? He was older! Maybe not as mature, but still, older!

I got on the elevator with the other dead souls who had probably been waiting there for a long, long time. They all looked at me enviously. I shrank back against the wall to stay as far away from them as possible. This was definitely no the most pleasant elevator ride of my life. We all filed onto the ferry. Charon announced we were making a quick stop as he began to row. I practically leaped out of the boat when we docked. I turned to thank Charon but the ferry was already far down the river.

The Styx had a weird smell about it. It was like acid and rose perfume. I looked at the black water, full of rejected dreams, as it flowed by. A graduation cap, a family photo album, a painting of a girl crying that was torn and burned. I made sure to stay a good distance back from the water. My skin would be burned off if I touched it, and I kind of liked my skin.

I unzipped the backpack, rummaging around to try to find a flashlight but I could not find one. Of course, the god of war packs me an extra knife but he forgets to pack me a flashlight. I did, however, find a belt for me to use to put both knives in. I put it on and the knives in their sheaths. I looked through the bag some more to make sure I at least had food. I did, however I did not have ambrosia or nectar. Or matches or a sleeping bag or a change of clothes. There was a rope and extra arrows, that is it. This god was killing me here.

I walked along the shore until I came across some old broken jewelry. I passed some torn photos and a couple of dolls without their heads. Once I even saw a ripped wedding dress. But there was no electric spear anywhere. Up ahead I heard a loud screech, making me stop. It was the sound of a Fury, and a furious Fury at that. Did I really have to be attacked by an angry monster _now_?

I set my bow, aiming where I had heard the shriek come from. Seconds ticked by as hollow silence roared in my ears. Maybe it had been a false alarm. My fingers slackened on the string.

The Fury attacked from behind.


	11. Chapter 11: I Talk With

_**Chapter 11: I Talk With the Enchilada Goddess**_

I hit the ground instantly. The Fury flew right over me. She turned, beating her large leathery wings angrily. It was Ms. Dodds, I could tell from the ugly face. She still had not heard about age defying lotion apparently. I rolled on my side as the Fury swooped in on me. I kicked her right in the face. I jumped up, holding up the knife Ares had given me. It was celestial bronze with a red handle that had skull and bones engravings on it. The Fury cam at me again. This time I used my knife to slash her across the face. She shrieked wildly with pain. I would rather have been stabbed in the ear than heard that noise.

The Fury hit me with her wing so I went flying back about five feet rolled a few more. My shoulder protested when I moved it. I looked to the side to find that I was inches form the Styx. I lifted myself up but was knocked down again by the Fury.

"How dare you enter here!" she yelled in a raspy voice. "You child of Python! Die!"

I rolled out of the way. She crashed into the ground. I pushed myself up quickly, jumping on her back. She started bucking like an angry bull, rising into the air. Great, now I would have to deal with a painful crash landing. I raised my knife. I stabbed the Fury int eh back of the neck. I fell ten feet through the air, surrounded by monster dust. The black sand of the shore broke my landing a little bit, but that was only a very tiny little bit.

"By the way, I'm not a daughter of Python," I whispered out loud to the monster dust.

I brushed off the dust and sand out of my hair, which was as messy was ever. You would think since Ares is dating the goddess of beauty and all he would at least remember to pack a brush. I scooped my backpack up as I walked on, limping a little because my ankle was twisted from when I fell. It would be fine in no time so I continued to walk. I also had a scratch on my jawline from when the Fury had hit me with her wing. I pressed my sweatshirt sleeve against it to staunch the blood. Ares had also forgotten medical supplies.

I curled my heavy jacket up and stuffed it in the bag. I took of the two sweaters I had on under my sweatshirt, too. My feet were really starting to get hot in the boots I was wearing. Why was Hades so warm? Was the A/C out this week or something? I rolled up my sweatshirt sleeves, partially because of the heat and partially to hide the nasty blood stain at the end of my right one.

After tow more hours of just walking I still had not found the stupid spear. It was not like I had walked by it without noticing. You cannot exactly miss a giant electric spear. I started swinging an arrow around like a baton when I got really bored. At one point I was humming Beethoven's fifth, but then I moved on to Kreayshawn's "Gucci Gucci". There are more similarities there than you would think.

Something to the right caught the corner of my eye. My head snapped in that direction. Sadly, it was not the spear. A mist seemed to be rising from a crack in some rocks. As I walked closer I realized the mist was shimmering like a rainbow.

"_Please insert one drachma_."

I fished in my backpack for a drachma. Eventually I found one and tossed it into the mist. It disappeared instantly.

"_Thank you_."

"You are very welcome," I responded.

An image of a woman at a table appeared. She was young with dark hair that was braided with strands of wheat in it. Her dress had a floral pattern on it. The flowers seemed to be blossoming. She took a bite of something from a plate on the table in front of her and wiped her mouth.

"Hello, young hero," she said to me.

"Hey," I said uncertainly. I gave a tiny wave. "Is that an enchilada?"

She smiled warmly. "Yes, my satyr friends make the best enchiladas. That is good considering how much they love them. I wish I could off you one, but this is the last."

"It's fine." I had no idea who this lady was but she seemed very nice. Because of that I was guessing she was probably not a goddess.

The woman gasped. "Where are my manners? I have not even introduced myself. I am Demeter."

A frown involuntarily formed on my face. "Demeter?"

She looked hurt. "You don't seem very happy to meet me."

"Oh, sorry." I cleared my throat. "!"

"I get it, dear, you do not have to pretend to like me."

"No, I like you a lot. You're really nice, that's why I was surprised you were a goddess."

She laughed softly, and it sounded like a breeze through a wheat field. "I suppose some of my family and friends are a bit less…personable."

"A bit? I was just talking to Ares and let me tell you-"

"Sweetie, I know, trust me, I know." She grinned. "I would like to help you."

"Is that even allowed?"

She shrugged. "It will be our little secret. I will give you a hint about where the spear is. You just have to do me a little favor."

Ring-a-ding-ding! And we have found the catch! But then again, she seemed genuinely nice, so how bad could the favor really be? "Okay, what is it?"

"Nothing very hard. I would just like you to make a quick deliver." She snapped her fingers. Less than a second later a rose appeared hovering in the air next to me. "I would like you to see to it that this gets to Hades. It is a special thank you for taking such good care of my daughter and making sure she stays safe during these…times."

"But I don't have a way to-"

"Shhh! I'll take care of it." She waved her hand. A chariot slowly appeared nearby. It was simple and sturdy, but there was a slight glow about it that gave away what class it belonged to. "It may not look too elaborate, but it flies like a dove."

"Awesome." I reached for the rose to put it in my bag.

"No! Don't touch it! It is so powerful that anyone with a hint of mortality in them will disintegrate."

"Noted." I looked around expectantly. "So, uh, where's the spear?"

"I'll let you know when you finish the task."

I frowned, making no effort to hide my disappointment. "Of course."

"Good luck, Soleil."

"Thanks, Demeter."

The mist vanished as I swatted at it a little impatiently. I hopped on the chariot, glancing at the rose as it hovered behind me, moving when I did. I waited for the chariot to take off. Nada. I told it to go. Still on the ground. I asked it politely to go. When that did not work, I insulted it. Still, nothing.

"Go, you stupid chariot!" I yelled in frustration and smacked the side.

It lifted off easily. If anyone asks, I got it on the first try, understand? I saidl over the River Styx, glad to know Demeter was right when she said it flew like a dove. I flew right over the entrance, Cerebus (he is really such a cute guy when he is not trying to eat you), and the Fields of Asphodel. The chariot went right to Hades's palace, the doors opening for it, most likely because of its godly aura. It brought me all the way to Hades's throne room. Persephone sat in the throne next to the one where the god of the dead sat in his giant chair of fused bone. I got off the chariot shakily, eyeing a skull that was protruding from Hades's throne rather prominently. I walked forward with Hades glaring at me, which made it no easier to attempt to walk steadily. I think even the rose was shivering a little as the faint gold aura about it shimmered.

"Hello, Lord Hades," I said, bowing grandly.

"Why are you here, demigod?" he asked me bluntly. "If you want to die, you'll have to make an appointment." His hollow laugh echoed around the room as Persephone rolled her eyes. "What? That was funny! Even the ruler of the Underworld can joke. It was funny, wasn't it, Persephone?"

"Of course, dear," she responded obligingly. "Now, why are you here, young half-blood?"

"Your mother sent me with a gift for Hades," I responded, looking at Persephone instead of Hades.

"Why?" Hades bellowed.

"It's a thank-you for taking care of Persephone or something. Here." I waved my hand. The rose slowly floated toward Hades as he watched it impatiently.

"It's such a beautiful flower," Persephone marveled. "It's odd. It reminds me of one of my mother's-" She gasped. "Hades! No!"

Hades pulled his hand away from the rose. "What?" A bell rang. "Oh, no, I have to go to a meeting." He looked directly at me with a cold gaze. "You're work is done, half-blood. Get out of my realm."

He snatched the rose as Persephone yelled in protest again. The rose erupted in Hades's hand, causing everyone in the room to be thrown back. For a second I was blinded by a bright light. I thought Hades had been destroyed, but then I heard him shout angrily in Latin. I think he called for his hellhounds. When my vision adjusted I saw the rose again, but it had turned into a draken, a symbol of Demeter. Hades was battling it.

"Come with me, hero."

Persephone was by my side, dragging me away. She led me down a stone path through a doorway off of the throne room. We walked for a while until we entered into a garden, Persephone's garden. I noticed a small water wall in the corner, almost completely covered by shadows.

"Is that Styx water?" I asked Persephone.

"Yes," she responded, looking at me uncertainly.

I ran over to it. At the bottom, glowing, was Ares's spear. The pool was about ten feet deep, and there was no way I was reaching into it. I ripped a vine off the cave wall next to me. I created a small loop at the end that was just big enough to fit around the handle of the spear. After a few tries, I managed to snag the end of the spear. I pulled the vine until it caught onto the head of the spear and yanked the spear out. I let it fall to the floor and dry off as I tossed the vine to the side.

"What is that?" Persephoen asked as she came up next to me, passing me a gourd of fruit juice. I knew better than to drink it.

"Ares's spear," I replied. "Hermes lost it near the Styx. It must have found its way here somehow."

"Well, you are lucky to have found it. Why are you assisting Ares?"

"Long story."

She nodded and glanced back. "I should have known my mother would try something like this." She stroked her braid. I had heard she usually had strands of wheat in her hair, but there were none at the moment. "She always is." She looked at me. Her eyes were an odd, vibrant green, like her dress. I would have expected her to be more washed out. "Drink up. You must be parched."

I put the gourd against my lips. I made sure to keep them pressed together so no juice entered my mouth as I tipped the gourd back. "Yum."

She grinned cruelly. "You're a stupid little girl, aren't you?"

I feinted shock. "What? Why?"

"No reason. Follow me, we should go check on Hades."

"Of course." I picked up the spear from off the ground.

I spun the spear around carelessly to play up the "stupid little girl" act. Persephone had a weird way of walking. It was very smooth, like she was gliding, not taking steps. The dress she wore came all the way down to the floor, exposing no skin at all. When we were almost to Hades's throne room I pretended to stumble, knocking Persephone down, too. I was up before Persephone and I reached for her hand to help her out. With my other hand I used the spear to stab her in the neck.

The fake skin melted away to reveal scaly skin. The _dracaena_ hissed as she started disintegrating.

"Python will get you," she threatened.

"How?" I asked. "By infiltrating all the realms of the gods? Not likely to happen. They're smarter than you think, and so are us demigods. Persephone would never defend Hades if her mother sent that rose. I knew that, and Demeter knew that, which is why she sent me to bring the rose. She's also the one who made Hermes lose his sword and who moved it into that waterfall. She knew you would bring me here. The gods are against Python, too, and they're not who you want to mess with."

"I don't care!" She gasped as her neck began to disintegrate. In a raspy voice she said, "For Python!"

Not a very original last line. I heard a shout from out in the throne room. I ran through the garden and back up the stone path, but the door into the room had been closed. I kicked it open, setting my bow. I sent all three arrows flying at the draken's underbelly where the armor was thinner. I sent another arrow under one of the scales on its neck. Hades unsuccessfully fending off the draken with his onyx sword. I put my bow back away. I tried throwing Ares's spear at the draken's mouth. It closed its mouth before the spear got there. I turned its beady black eyes on me. Ach! It opened its mouth wide in my direction. Did this thing know about Colgate? I ran forward as fast as I could. The fire came with a deep rumble in the draken's throat. I did the awesomest rock star knee slide ever. I slid completely under the jet of fire, all the way under the draken's head. I pulled my knife out and stabbed the underside of the draken's neck. I dragged it along for a couple feet. Icky draken blood came out of the deep wound.

I ran out from underneath the draken before it collapsed, dead. Hades glared at me, causing me to start shaking again.

"I had it under control," he defended.

"I was just helping. By the way, you might want to look for your wife."

"What'?"

"She's somewhere. I have no idea where." I snatched up the spear again before hopping back on the chariot. It lifted off after I smacked the side. "Demeter knows."

"So she sent a _draken_?"

"Don't question the gods."

He gave me a hard look. "Oh, like you never have."

My blood ran cold as I flew out of there and I wondered just how much Hades knew about me. I placed the spear carefully next to me. At my feet there was a bunch of grapes. I placed them in my backpack, at the top, so they would not get squished. I sailed over the River Styx again, this time less anxious than I was before. How was I getting out of here? Would Demeter help? I looked down at the River Styx. It was boiling uncontrollably. I was only twenty feet above it. A few waves almost hit me. I peered into the black water. I could just barely make out a shiny scale in the water.

The chariot was going about one mile her hour. I veered it to the side, away from being directly over the River Styx. I had a bad feeling I knew what that scale belonged to. The chariot landed on the shore with a small thud. I jumped out, already running. The water boiled even more. It seemed to be following me as I ran along the shore. I flung my backpack in the Styx to lighten my load a little. I ran all the way along the shore, as far from the water as possible. The spear slipped from my hand. I spun to get it. When I saw the water I kept running. Ares had enough other spears to last for a little while.

The water stopped boiling. I still kept running but glanced back. It was completely calm. Suddenly a giant green serpent broke the through the water, disturbing the calm. It shot forward to gobble me up in one big serpenty bite. I tried to set my bow but was slammed out of the way. My head hit a rock when I fell. I felt along my hair line carefully and felt a small trickle of blood. No biggie.

I turned, getting up on one knee to steady myself. I set my boy. The serpent was lying dead with a sword through its mouth and a knife in its neck. I stood up, swaying a little. A hand grabbed my elbow to steady me. I pushed him away. How had Norman found me? And how had he even gotten down here? I saw Nico and shot him a "stupid shadow traveler" look.

"Why are you here?" I demanded of Norman.

"Forgive me for saving your life," he said, ignoring my question.

"I could have handled it."

"Surrrre."

"Shut up."

"Has saying that really ever worked?"

"No." I stamped my foot in frustration. "Why are you here?"

"Do you really think I would let you go searching for Python alone?"

"Yes." Okay, I know he would not, but I just did not want him here. Well, I did, but I did not. I mean, I really did want him here, but he just could not be here. Actually, he could, but-

"You lack of faith depresses me."

"Lack of faith in what?"

Nico stepped forward to answer. "His love for you."

Norman punched Nico in the gut quickly before turning back to me. "My ability to kick monster butt. I mean, how much glory will I get if I stay away while you do everything?"

"Excuse me?"

"Seriously, how much? I mean-"

"Just shut up."

"Didn't I just say that never w-"

I smacked him across the face. "If you want glory, find your own monster to fight. I'm not looking for Python because I _feel_ like it. I'm doing it because he has my dad. Also, he could possibly, you know, destroy the world if he gains enough power."

"I was just kidding, Sol."

"Of course you were. Maybe your fatal flaw of pride is getting a little too hard to control."

"And maybe your fatal flaw of stupidity is getting too hard to control."

"Name one time I've acted stupid."

"There are too many to count."

"Shut up!"

"It doesn't work!"

"Get out of my life!"

"With pleasure!"

"SHUT UP!"

We both stared, bewildered, at Nico, who was breathing a little harder from shouting so loudly.

"You both need to stop arguing," he said. Like that was so not obvious. He pointed at Norman but looked at me. "The second he found out you were gone, he was already packing. It wasn't because he thought 'This is my chance to get famous'. You know him. You know he came here because he wanted to _help_ you."

"Is that true?" I asked Norman.

He just nodded slightly, looking down at his shoes. "I know some stuff about Python. I think it could help."

I sighed. "I don't need any help."

I turned and walked away. I heard Nico try to stop Norman, but it did not work. Norman started running after me. I kept walking, even when he had reached me. He was blabbing away as I went to scoop up Ares's spear. He grabbed my arm.

"That's-"

"Yes, I know what it is," I told him. "I'm doing Ares a favor."

"I was kind of wondering why you were down here. We were only here because Nico had to get his shield." He laughed bitterly. "When I first saw you, I thought you were dead."

"Thank gods I'm not, right?"

"Yeah. I'll take that, for you." He picked up the spear.

I tried to grab it back from him. "I'll take it."

"I will." He pulled it back toward him.

I pulled it back. "You just want the satisfaction of handling a god's weapon."

He pulled it back to him so hard I was pulled to just a couple inches or less away from him. "No, I just think you should steer the chariot."

"I can still do that and-"

Nico took the spear out of our hands. "Just let me carry it. Why do you two have to bicker so much?"

I looked at Norman, who was still really close. "I don't know," I said so quietly that I think only Norman heard.

"We don't bicker that much," Norman defended, both of us casually stepping back from each other.

"It's only when Norm annoys me," I added.

"Sure, I'm the annoying one."

"You really are."

"Fine, I'm annoying."

O-oh my gods. D-did he just…Did he just agree with me? "Um…wow."

When we reached the chariot, Norman stood to the side. "Ladies first."

This was getting really weird. "Thank you…?"

It was a pretty tight fit on the chariot. "Fly into the shadows," Nico ordered once we were all on.

After a lot of questions from me and no answer from Nico, I flew into a large patch of dark shadows. I was thrown completely out of the chariot on contact with the shadows. I landed painfully on concrete. I instinctively looked around to find that we were outside the entrance to the Underworld. Charon was snoozing on the podium. I made sure my bow and arrows were in tact. I looked to the side. Nico was standing, and Norman was just getting up. I checked to make sure I had no broken bones before I started to get up. Norman helped me. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Don't try killing me with kindness," I warned him.

He laughed. "I'm not," he assured me.

"Really? Then why are you suddenly treating me civilly? Less than five minutes ago we were arguing."

"A little bit of courtesy never hurt anyone, Sol."

"I disagree."

"Where are we meeting Ares?" Nico asked me.

"A burger place."

"Where?"

"No idea. I'll know it when I see it."

"I hope you do. Do they have good fries?"

"No idea."

"Then I'm gonna find out."

We started of down the road. I began looking around for the burger place but almost a half hour later we had not found it, and it was getting late. We continued on with our search. When we did find the burger place, though, it was going to be interesting, that much I knew.


	12. Chapter 12: Never Trust a God Ever!

_**Chapter 12: Never Trust a God. Ever!**_

Almost an hour later we finally found the burger place. Hey! Do not give me that look! I am not exactly the best with directions. Also, when I suggested we stop to ask for them, the boys protested and said we would find the place soon enough. That was about fifty-five minutes ago. Now sooner had we sat down at a booth than Ares appeared, finishing a taco. What is it with Olympians and Mexican food?

"Here," Norman said, sliding the spear across the table.

When Ares touched it, an electric bolt shot out, shattering a light bulb nearby. Ares gave a cruel grin before the spear disappeared from view.

"Not horrible," Ares murmured. Oh gods, could that be considered a compliment? "See ya."

I held up my hand to stop him. "Whoa, you're not going anywhere," I told him. Nico and Norman looked at me like I was insane. "We had a deal. Are you going to find and kill Python?"

"Nah." Ares pointed casually at Norman. "He technically gave it back to me."

Then he was gone, just like that. No fire, no smoke, no magical fairy dust. He just flickered away in a second. I put my head on the table with a heavy sigh. So much for an easy way out, and it had not even been easy at all. A waiter came over to take our orders. After she walked away, I asked Norman to start spewing off facts about Python so it would help us start planning. He took a deep breath before starting.

"Like I said before, he is a snake-like god, or monster, of chaos and destruction. Wherever he went, horrible things followed. He was sent by Hera to kill Leto after she discovered Leto was pregnant with Zeus's children because of their affair. That is why Leto ran away to the island of Delos where she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. Actually, I should have said Artemis's name first because she was born first and then assisted Leto with-Never mind, that's off topic. When Apollo learned that Python was-"

"Back it up," I cut in. "Hera sent Python?"

"Yes."

"That little-"

"Sol," Nico cautioned quietly, glancing up toward the sky.

"I don't care! She knew! I was talking to her and-My dad!" He told her to never speak to me again. "Why in Hades would he do that?"

"Excuse me, Soleil, I just wanted to remind you we're still here, along with the voices in your head you're arguing with."

"Why would who do what?" Norman asked me.

"Apollo forbade Hera from ever talking to me," I explained hurriedly. "She wanted to-" I stopped short, remembering that they still did not know the importance of my burn. "Uh, she just wanted to talk to me. She knew about Python."

"Then why would your dad forbid her form speaking to you?" Nico asked, eating a fry.

"You know the gods. They always have a selfish ulterior motive." The two ducked their heads, holding their hands up for protection. "Cool it. The gods hate me, not you guys."

They glanced at each other. "Um…"

"What?"

"Well," Nico hesitated before continuing, "there have been some rumors, about Olympus, that aren't too good."

"Like…?"

"They're split over Python," Norman said with a sigh. "Everyone knows he's out there. The gods are split over whether to hunt him down or not."

"Why can't they just all agree to do what would be best for the planet earth, and all its inhabitants, and destroy Python?"

"They think Apollo should do it."

"But Python has him! Dead or worse!"

"The gods think he's just hiding."

"How would they know?"

"How do you know that he's not?"

I took a sip of my water to calm myself. I hate it when he goes all smart and logical on me. "What side are Hades and Athena on?"

Nico tapped his skull ring on the table absently. "Hades is not included in this."

"And Athena?" I could tell Norman did not want to answer the question.

"She believes," he started, "that it is Apollo's duty to kill Python, as he did before. Let history repeat itself."

I remembered something Chiron had said often: "Only mortals have the ability to be creative." I looked at Norman closely, knowing the answer the question I was about to ask before I even asked it. "Are you in agreement?"

"Partially."

I stood up with determination. "Well, then I guess it's time for me to get creative."

"What are you doing?" Nico asked warily.

"Getting answers."

"From who?"

"Hera. And any other god or goddess I think can help me out, no matter what side they're on."

"How?" Norman scoffed. "The only way you could do that would be if-No…"

I nodded with a smirk. "Yes."

"Can anyone tell me what in Hades you are talking about?" Nico cut in.

"Finish your fries," I ordered him. "We're catching the next Greyhound to New York City."

"Can we even afford that?"

Yeah, had not thought about that. "Um…"

"I brought enough money," Norman assured us. "Now hurry up, dude, how long does it take you to eat an order of fries?"

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes, that was how long it took Nico to finish his fries. That boy is the slowest eater you will ever meet. I pulled my backpack closer as I curled up on the bus seat. The backpack smelled faintly like pine needles. We had gotten it at some cheap second-hand shop. I also got some new clothes, and then some basic first-aid supplies from a local CVS. My bow and quiver were stuffed in the backpack, too. I looked out the window. We were about five minutes away from the bus station in New York where we were getting off. Next to me, Norman woke up from a six hour nap. It was first time he had slept the whole bus ride.<p>

"Good morning," Nico greeted as he sat back down from his visit to the loo.

"It's afternoon, so you say good afternoon," I corrected. The exact time at that moment was 12: 00: 29 p.m.

"Really?" Norman asked, straightening up. "Well, good afternoon to everyone." He groaned as he stretched. "How far away are we?"

"Three point five five five four seven two six minutes."

"Now, three point three five five five four seven two six minutes," Nico interjected before Norman could respond.

"And now three point-"

"Shut up," Norman growled. "I get it."

"You're grumpy in the morning."

"I thought it was afternoon."

"Oh, yeah…" I muttered. Nico smirked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"And I'm not grumpy," Norman defended. "Okay, maybe I am a little. We can't all be bursting with energy when we first wake up. Heidi's like Medusa times ten before she has her coffee."

"And after that she's like bitch times twenty." I was a little shocked by what I had said, and apparently so were Nico and Norman.

"You've hardly ever talked to her."

"And I already don't like her."

"But you have stuff in common. You're both girls."

"Thanks for noticing."

"You're both blonde."

"She acts it more than me." Which is really sad…

"You both have blue eyes."

I did not want to break it to Norman that hers were clearly contacts so I said, "Mine are prettier."

"Yeah, they are."

I snapped my head to look at him. "What?"

He blinked a few times. "Uh, I said pancakes. Yes, I want pancakes."

"No," Nico told him, "you said-"

"Shut up, Nico!" Norman hit him in the arm.

"They really don't have that much in common, though…" Nico added meekly, rubbing his arm.

"We don't," I agreed. "I mean, has she ever even picked up a bow? Sword? Any weapon of any kind?"

"I don't know," Norman replied quietly.

"See? The word 'no' was in that sentence. We have nothing in common."

"That doesn't mean you have to hate her."

"I can strongly dislike her."

"No, you can't!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"Who died and made you king of the world?"

"You're just jealous."

"Of what? An air-headed Barbie?"

He groaned. "No, that she's my girlfr-"

"Don't flatter yourself. I have a boyfriend."

"Posters aren't real people, Sol."

"F.Y.I., he is a real person, his name is Logan, and he's a helluva lot better than you."

He started laughing. I was totally confused as he doubled over in his seat, laughing like a maniac. I tried to resist laughing, but it is so dang contagious! I cracked up. Nico tried to resist, too, but his attempts failed. We all stumbled off the bus laughing. Nico was the firs to stop, and eventually Norman and I stopped.

"Why were we laughing again?" Nico asked us.

"I don't know," I responded. "Why were we laughing, Wise Guy?"

"It was because of the stupidity of our argument," Norman responded. "It was so contradictory."

"How?"

"Because we were both-Never mind. Ready to go to Olympus?"

"Yup."

"I'll meet you guys back here after," Nico said.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not the most welcome person on Olympus."

"And you think _I_ am?"

"Look, I'll just stay here, okay? I would prefer that."

So would I, I felt like saying. "Okay, fine. Norm will stay with you."

"I don't need a baby-sitter."

"I want him to stay."

"I want to go to Olympus," Norman said quickly.

"I don't want you to, though!" I took a breath. "I should just go by myself."

"Soleil-"

"Norman." I shook my head. "I want to do this alone."

He sighed deeply as his stormy gray eyes seemed to crackle with lightning. "Fine."

"So it's settled. You two stay, I'll go. I'll see you when I get."

"If you get back," Nico tried to say jokingly. It was too dark and too much of a warning to be laughed at, and I thought Norman was going to hit him again.

I walked backward. "Um, yeah, bye."

I turned and kept walking, catching a cab at the corner with some money Norman had given me. On the way to the Empire Sate Building I played with my keychain constantly. It was a golden mini-arrow Norman had found at the second-hand shop that he got for me. When the cab arrived, I hesitated for a few seconds before stepping out. I asked the guard at the front for the key to the six hundredth floor. He almost went on that "there ain't a six hundredth floor" rant, but then he saw the quiver and bow I had put on my shoulder.

"Question: can you hold my bag while I'm up there?" I asked him.

"Eh, whatever. Sure. Name?"

"Soleil Kentley."

He threw the key at me like it was a hot potato. "Go! Quickly!"

"Uh, okay."

I jogged to the elevator after giving the guard my bag. I put the key in the slot so that the button appeared for the six hundredth floor. I pressed it slowly. I slung to the side of the elevator go avoid going _KER_-_SPLAT_ on the floor when the elevator started going up. I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly. At the top I put my hand lightly on my bow, just in case. The doors slid open.

A lightning bolt cracked the marble pathway just a few feet in front of me. I leaped over the charred marble gingerly before continuing on down the path. Yells and shouts came from all directions around me. I practically ran down the path. There was a flash in the coliseum. Godlings and satyrs argued all around me. An arrow went right over my head. Two boys with wings were sword fighting over a fountain that was cracked in half. All nine Muses sat completely mute at the foot of the broken fountain, backs to each other.

I ran right into the coliseum. All the Olympians were there, sitting in their respective thrones. The few that registered some sort of emotion when they saw me gave me glares. Zeus's master bolt crackled loudly in his hand. I was oddly unafraid as adrenaline rushed through my veins. I stared at Hera, who was smiling cruelly.

"This is your fault!" I screamed suddenly.

"Excuse me for protecting my beliefs," she said, sassy and sweet as syrup at the same time. "Leto should never have seduced my husband. Now, her and all her descendants will pay."

"Don't count on it."

"But I am, demigoddess."

I set my bow as Hera's smile turned into a bitter smirk. All the other gods watched like what was going on was their favorite television show. I put my bow down. I was just their entertainment. The reason humans had creativity was just to entertain the gods. I was a piece in their game. A pawn. I would not stand that. I wanted revenge.


	13. Chapter 13: Game On

_**Chapter 13: Game On**_

I set my bow again at record speed. I shot the arrow right at Hera's still smirking face. I rolled to the side to avoid Zeus's bolt as it flew toward me. Without even going up on a knee to balance myself I shot another arrow right at him as he stood. It hit where no male, god or human, likes to be hit by an arrow. I dropped my bow and pulled my sword. I cut the grass wrapping around my ankle. I flat-out threw and arrow at Demeter. I had thought she was on my side.

I deflected Ares's spear with my sword. He brought a sword down on me. I held up my sword to shield myself but I buckled a little under the force. I pulled my knife with my left hand and stabbed him in the stomach. As he doubled over I stole his sword. Poseidon threw his trident at me. I did a backbend to avoid it, but it turned and started flying back at me. I caught it between the two swords, snapping it in half. He charged me for breaking his toy. I cut his cheek and planted a solid kick in the middle of his rib cage that would have killed any normal human. He stumbled back, but came at me again with his instantly repaired trident. I fell to the floor so he tripped right over me. I rolled over, cutting his neck and stabbing Ares's sword right through his leg. I took his trident as Demeter approached me calmly.

"Nice job," she commented before vanishing.

"What?" I breathed.

Who had made the grass grow around my ankles then? Had it even been grass? I heard a guttural laugh behind me. I turned to see Dionysus laughing from his throne. Lazy jerk. He just let his vines do all the work while he sat back and watched.

"Get down and fight for yourself!" I yelled at him.

He laughed again. "My opinion had changed after this. Good luck, Samantha."

"Soleil," I corrected.

He was already gone, along with Heapeastus, Hermes, and Artemis. I realized then that Athena had never been there, which was probably a good thing. I looked around. All the gods had left to care for their wounds. Hera was the only one that remained, the arrow sticking out of her forehead grotesquely. She stood.

"You disrespectful little demigoddess," she hissed. "I will curse you into the next millennia."

I spun the trident like a baton. "Of course you will."

I chucked the trident at her. It sliced right through her chest. I covered my eyes before the bright gold flash came. Once it had faded, I held my sword up, giving a victorious cry. The ground shook. Oh no, this could not me good. I ran out of the coliseum at full speed, jumping over an unconscious satyr on the path that was most likely more than just unconscious. Lightning stuck randomly all over Olympus. I tried to push myself to go faster.

I happened to glance to the side as someone shot an arrow at another person that looked a lot like them. My bow! I turned and ran back, thankful that no gods had returned to their thrones. I snatched up my bow in a heartbeat. A lightning bolt hit the building and the pillars began to crumble. I ran out of there like a cheetah. I felt bad as I heard the last stone fall behind me. It had only been completed a few weeks ago.

I started down the path again. The Muses were in an all out war at the fountain. I considered keeping on running, but instead I threw myself in the middle. They all froze at the sight of me. I point my sword at each of them as I turned in a circle.

"You are supposed to keep this place happy and joyful," I reminded them. "Look around. Does this seem happy and joyful? No, I didn't think so. It is your responsibility to help keep peace. How can you do that while fighting among yourselves? You can't. Now, I can't promise Python will be destroyed or Apollo will kill him or whatever you want to happen. But I can promise you that Olympus will be a little bit better if you guys gave it a little bit of happiness. Can you bring these people some happiness?" They nodded. Seconds later a lightning bolt split the fountain again. "Gotta go."

And I was off again. I heard the Muses start singing aca pella behind me. I dove into the elevator when I reached it, slamming the lobby and doors close button. I fell against the side, filled with exhaustion. The doors opened. I got my bag from the guard, hailing a cab when I stepped out onto the street. I almost fell asleep on the ride back to the bus station.

I found Norman and Nico on a bench right outside. Nico went to get me some food after he asked if there was anything he could do for me. I plopped down on the bench tiredly. Norman sat next to me, pushing some hair out of my face. "What happened? You look exhausted."

"I am," I admitted. "I kind of…well, I-"

A thunder clap cut me off before it began instantly pouring. We were under an awning, much to the gods' dismay. I crossed my arms as a sudden cold came over me when the wind began whipping some of the cold drops under the awning. Norman wrapped his sweatshirt around me. He did not move his arms until I accidentally elbowed him.

"This is all my fault," I yelled over the rain.

"What is?" Norman yelled back.

"The storm."

"How?"

Just then Nico ran over with my food. Even though it was kind of soggy I devoured it. Nico pulled his black hood up even though the rain was beginning to calm down a smidgen.

"How is the storm your fault?" Norman asked once again, not having to shout this time. He just had to talk loudly. Very loudly.

"I, uh," I stuttered. There were no interruptions this time, so I knew I had to say it. "I got in a fight with the gods."

"You're kidding, right?" Nico asked. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"She's not," Norman determined. He is brilliant, right? "How bad was it?"

I told them everything. Nico sat on the back of the bench with his feet on the seat. He rubbed his hands together thoughtfully.

"You have two options: one, go into hiding, and two, die," he said bluntly.

"We'll focus on that later," Norman said. "Right now we need to thank about Python."

"I'd prefer not to."

"Well, we have to," I said.

"I think I know where he is," Norman announced.

"Why have you waited until _now_ to tell me?"

"I just figured it out a little while ago. He's in Philadelphia."

"What would Python be doing in Phi-"

"Delphi," I cut Nico often. "Python's carcass was under the mountain where the Oracle, the spirit of Delphi, resided. Phila_delphi_a."

"Yeah, but how can we be sure he's there?" Nico asked logically.

"We can't." I looked at Norman to give some sort of reassuring comment. He did not. "We just need a place to start."

"So we're going to Philly?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

><p>Current location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<p>

To be more exact: Staring at the Liberty Bell, wondering what in Hades I got myself into

Headcount: Two

Person Missing: Norman St. Vincent

Time declared missing: When we last got off the bus

Current Emotion: Frustrated and depressed

Thought at large: Why are Pennsylvanians such bad drivers?


	14. Chapter 14: Surprise Visitors

_**Chapter 14: Surprise Visitors**_

"Where could he have gone?" I asked Nico.

"Somewhere," Nico replied.

I glared at him.

"Sorry."

I stared at the crack in the Liberty Bell that was right in front of us. "I can't worry about it now. C'mon." I started walking away, expecting him to follow.

"What? Are you serious?"

I turned to him, shielding the sun with my hand. "Yes, now come on."

"No way." He pointed to himself. "I'm going to look for Norm, because he's my _friend_."

"But I need your help with Python."

"You need Norman's help, too, Sol."

"I don't have time to look for him. I've already wasted enough of it. Who knows how powerful Python is by now?"

"What if he has Norman?"

"He doesn't. Norman left on purpose. I know it."

"He wouldn't do that!"

"Why? Give me one good reason."

He frowned deeply. "It's not something I'm in a position to say."

"Why not?"

"Because I just can't! It would be awkward. Like reeeeally awkward."

"Whatever." I had started off on this little journey on my own, had I not? "Just go find Norman. I'll kill Python on my own."

I jogged off, but I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I just kept going and going and going. I was like an Energizer bunny on Red Bull. I eventually ended up right back at the Liberty Bell, but Nico was no longer there and it was beginning to get dark out. What was I going to do? Norman was gone. He always had all the facts and right answers, or at least the answers that I needed to hear. Nico was gone now, too. He was the calm and quiet one who was (almost) always supportive. How could I do this without them?

I walked to a nearby park and sat at one of the wooden picnic tables. I probably looked like a homeless person with my shabby backpack and dirty clothes. Who knows what the mortals saw my bow and quiver as through the Mist. I was almost positive it was nothing even remotely normal. I pulled a map of Philadelphia out of my pocket and opened it to try to find a place to stay. I looked around, considering the possibility of just staying at the park for the night. It was oddly warm fro December, but then again, the night would still get really cold.

"You have surprised me."

"Huh?" I looked up. A woman in her late twenties with dark hair and stormy gray eyes was sitting across from me in a shimmering gray business suit. Athena. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I meant, excuse me?"

"I have been watching you," she confessed without her serious facial expression changing. "I must say, I am thoroughly surprised." I felt a little bit of pride grow inside me since it must take a lot to surprise Athena. "You have kept your stance on the Python subject. You continue to believe your father is a prisoner of Python. It takes a bit of faith to keep believing that after everything that has happened."

I could already feel this conversation taking a turn for the ugly. "You have to have faith in facts, right?"

"That would only apply if it were a fact that Apollo was Python's prisoner. I believe Apollo is hiding."

"And that makes something a fact, doesn't it? If you believe it?" Crap, I could get blown up for that.

"No, but my opinion is highly regarded."

"But my opinion is worthless because I'm a demigod, right? Just a stupid little hero trying to save her father, and the world, from being destroyed." If it is not too late, that is, I almost added.

"Why is it that you continue to believe Apollo is a victim?"

I placed my hands firmly on the table and leaned forward. "Because unlike you, I have a heart."

"Do not be so rash, godling."

I stood up. "If you decide to drop in on your son, tell him that if he comes back, I'll personally slit his throat."

"That is being rash."

I walked away briskly. At the next set of picnic benches I came across, I sat down. I stayed sitting there for almost an hour, doing absolutely nothing but staring straight ahead. Finally, I decided I would spend the night at the park. I moved to get a blanket from out of my bag. _Hhissssssss_. Seriously, I thought, seriously? _Hissssss_. I will take that as a yes, I guess.

I got up and turned with my bow and arrow raised, getting ready to fight. "Whoa," I whispered when I saw who I was up again. There were a doze _dracaena_ in a half circle around me. I set my bow with four arrows. Even when I hit all four, there were still to many for me to take on by myself. I jumped up on the table when they kept approaching. I shot four more arrows, but only three went down this time. One _dracaena _threw her spear at me, barely nicking my shoulder. Two arrows flew right at me as I regained my balance. I ducked.

Five arrows arched perfectly in the air and implanted themselves in the necks of the remaining _dracaena_. I looked up in the direction where the arrows had come from. Who had shot those? A blond head began trotting into view. Ron? No, this figure was too tall. Was it Zeke? No, Zeke was away at college right now. Byron (fifteen) was in California at his new boarding school. Artie and Kevin (nine and ten) were staying with their aunt this year in London. Josh (thirteen) was at camp and I had not talked to him since I left, so there was no way he knew about the little predicament I was in.

The person looked up at me when they were within a good distance. It was Max. I did a double take, rubbing my eyes. There was no way he was the one who shot those arrows. Did he even know what archery meant? Or how to spell it? How had he gotten here?

"Hey, Sol," he greeted like it was just dinner at Furrows.

"Um, hi." I blinked a few times. He was still there. "Not to be rude, but what in Hats are you doing here?"

"It's Hades."

"I know that! You're the one who's not supposed to!"

"Please, all demigods know who Hades is."

"Yes, but you aren't-" He was grinning at me. The little jerk was grinning at me! "You're a freaking demigod?"

"Yeah, sis."

"Sis? You're a freaking son of Apollo?"

"Yes."

"How long have you-"

"Since I was ten."

"You've know since you were freaking ten?"

"Yes, but I never went to that camp place. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the smartest." Yeah, I had noticed. "I just play up the act in Latin."

"How did you know…" I pointed at the ground to help him figure out what I meant. "Who told you to come here?"

"A little bird." He clenched his fist. "Who never shuts up and goes on and on about the stupidest things. And though she's a nice, beautiful bird, and my good friend, sometimes I really just wish she would-"

"Oh my gods! Ana! How did she know?"

"Ask her. She's at our campsite."

He led me through the wooded area of the park to their camp site. It consisted of two tents and a firepit in the middle. Ana was tending to the fire when we entered. Did Ana even know how to properly tend a fire? Somehow, in the middle of a forest, she still had her makeup done perfectly and dangly earrings on. Her nails were ever perfectly manicured. Then again, she did play tennis and never even broke a nail on her backhand…

"He, Sol," she greeted brightly.

"Hey!" I said excitedly. "Thank gods you guys are here! I really need your-"

"Help, we know."

"You do?" 

She nodded. "It's exactly the reason we came. To help you kill Python."

"How do _you_ know about him? Are you, like, a daughter of Aphrodite or something?"

"I really don't." Suddenly, she zoned out. Just like that, she was gone. Max waved his hands in her face fervently. He tried to do the chicken dance, too, but her eyes remained glazed over. After a few more seconds she snapped back to earth. "No! He's-…Max, why are you doing the chicken dance? Never mind. Get your weapons."

"Why?" Max and I asked in unison.

"I just sense that someone's coming. All I can really tell is that it's a male."

"How?" I asked her.

"I just…I don't know, really."

"We'll deal with it later," Max said, patting Ana on the shoulder.

He ducked into his tent and came out a second later, holding his knife. We heard something faintly in the distance. It kept getting louder as it got closer. I set two arrows on my bow, just in case. Max held his knife at the ready as I pulled my string back, my fingers itching to let go. Ana hid behind a tree, peering out at us. Out from the dark shadow of a tree, stepped Nicholas St. Vincent.

"Wow, nice greeting," he said sarcastically when he saw us. "So great to see you, too, Sol and…people."

"Why are you here?" I asked him in a harsher voice than intended.

"A dream." He was lying, I could tell. Nick sucks at lying. Proves how different he and Norman are.

"Yeah, sure, that's it."

"Who's this?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject. He also has some issues with subtlety…

"Maxwell Cleary," Max said. "But you can just call me Max."

"Or idiot," Ana said as she stepped out from behind the tree. "That's what I liked to call him anyway. I'm Ana."

"Where's Nico?" Nick asked suddenly once he had told the other two his name. "And Tess?"

"Nico left…and Tess was never here."

"But-…she must be on her way."

"Did your 'dream' say she was coming?"

"No, she sent me an Iris-message."

"She sent you an Iris-message?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him. "That's progress, my friend."

His eyes darkened. "Shut up." 

"Nick, I was ju-"

"Shut up!"

I jumped a little. Nick hardly ever yells, but when he does, it is scary as Hades. "Sorry." I crossed my arms. "Everyone, gather around. We need to plan our next move."


	15. Chapter 15: Daddy's Little Girl

_**Chapter 15: Daddy's Little Girl**_

"He's here!" I screamed.

"He's not!" Ana yelled. "I would know!"

"No, you wouldn't!"

"Yes, I would!"

"Don't act important because you're not! You're useless!"

She slapped me across the face. It stung more than I was expecting. She was already crying, the timid little self-important bitch that she was. I pushed her back against a tree as she tried to kick me. I punched her in the face, not even using half as much force as I probably could have. Her mascara was running badly, her makeup not perfect for once in her life. She grabbed my hair and pulled it. Why do girls fight like that? Someone pulled me back as I took another swing. Max stood in front of Ana protectively.

"Soleil, calm down," Nick said as he held me back.

I spun and grabbed his neck. "Shut up," I hissed. "No one asked your opinion. I didn't ask you to help me." I threw him back, releasing his neck. "I don't want your help!" I turned to face Max and Ana. "Or yours! Now leave!"

"This is our camp," Ana said, panting. "Get out."

"No, wait," Max said, stepping forward. "Maybe we can sort this out rationally."

"Here's a first," I laughed. "A dumbass suggesting we sort something out rationally."

"Sol, why are you acting like this?"

"Why aren't you? He's your dad, too! Why don't you at least _pretend_ to act like you care?" I picked up my bag off the ground. "Whatever."

I pushed him and Ana out of the way when I passed them. I tore through the branches as I marched through the unknown forest. Soon I was blanketed by complete darkness. It was weird. I preferred light over darkness, but right now, I liked the way it felt to not have any idea what was around me. Up ahead I could barely make out a velvety shadow. Almost subconsciously, I dropped my bag, walking forward. Soon I was inches from the shadow, but it remained nothing more than a shadow.

"_Ssssssoleil_," it hissed as I felt something brush my face. "_I know what happened. I ssssaw everything. It issss sssso sssad to seeee them treat you sssso disssressspectfully. They sssshould be honoring you_."

"W-what?" I gasped, my breath a cloud. "Who are you?"

"_Quiet, my ssssweet little daughter. I will make sssure they ressspect you from now on. Do you approve?_"

In the dark, I saw two red eyes appear, staring at me, staring into my soul. They were pulling me in, hypnotizing me. "Yes."

"_Thank you, my child. Ssssweet dreamssss._"

Something tightened around my chest, making it difficult to breathe. It loosened a little as I struggled to break free, but I was still lost in the red eyes. I became aware of rain falling. Lightning crackles. In the eyes, I saw a wildfire roar through a forest. I realized it was the forest I was in. I became paralyzed where I was. The velvet shadow folded around me, but it did not feel soft and warm like I was expecting. It was cold and rough. In almost an instant, the whole world vanished.

I felt something around my wrist, causing me to jerk a little. Was it a hand? No, it was just a chain. I had one of those moments when you are half-asleep and it takes you about thirteen point seven seconds to process everything before you roll off your bed. Except, I could not roll off a bed because I was sitting against a cold, concrete wall. My feet were free, but my arms were chained to the wall above my head. I tried to remember the last thing that had happened. Yup, I got nothing.

I looked around me. There was not much to see, admittedly. It was all darkness. I sniffed the air. Yucky, bad choice. It smelled musty. I closed my eyes, opening them a few seconds later. Eh, it has never worked before, was I really expecting it to work now? I leaned my head back against the wall. Oh gods, my hair was probably worse than Medusa's by now. Having curly hair is awesome until you kill monsters on almost a daily basis and do not have access to a shower for nearly a week. One of the many flaws of demigodism. I had been finding more and more lately, much to my dismay.

Now that I was stuck in a dungeon, I was forced to think about all my actions. Okay, I was not forced to. I decided to. I just did not want to shock you too much by saying that I, a teenager, had decided to think about my actions. So, I thought about my actions back at the campsite. They had been rash, violent, and without a cause. It was like a burst of pent up anger and stress. There was no excuse for them. I no realized Athena's caution to not be rash with her was really a warning. I just had to discover that now, didn't I?

The velvety shadow appeared again in front of me. Gods know how I saw it. I struggled against my chains but they were celestial bronze. The shadow patted my head with a transparent hand. I jerked my head away, but it somehow got a grip on my chin. I was forced to look back into those horrible and hypnotic red eyes.

"_What isss wrong, my daughter_?" the shadow asked me with its raspy voice.

"I'm not your daughter," I said coldly. "I don't even know who you are." 

"_Really_?"

Okay, my first guess was that he was Python, but Python was a giant serpent. "Maybe."

"_I am Python_." That was impossible! There was no way I was believing this. "_I am the perssssonification of Python'ssss ssssoul, that issss_."

Okay, slightly, only slightly, more believable. "Since when does Python have a soul?"

"_Without a ssssoul, how could I have created you, my child_?"

"Stop saying that! I'm Apollo's daughter!"

"_For the god of truth, he hassss been keeping up a very good lie_."Something brushed my forearm, right over the burn. "_Why would I brand sssomething I do not own_?"

The shadow vanished again. My mind was racing at the speed of light. I remembered my two encounters with the Fury. One time, she had acknowledged me as Apollo's daughter, but the second time, she had accused me of being Python's daughter. A shiver built up through my spine. Why would Apollo claim me if I was not his? It was most likely to make sure Python did not have as much power. But what about the similarity in appearance? Was it just a mere coincidence? Was the person I had called Mom all these years even my real mother? Or was she a part of Apollo's scheme?

"Ah, the silence of mental struggle."

I whipped my head around. "Huh? Who said that? Show yourself! Wait, nevermind." A row of lanterns flicked on along the wall above my head. "Oh, where was the light switch?"

I looked around but there was no one there. Great, now I was going insane, too. This would make a great tale if I ever got out of here alive.

"So, how has life been, Sarah Lee?"

I looked up to my left. At that point, I would have much rather taken insanity over having to talk to the person there.

"Splendid, Mr. D, just splendid," I responded icily.

"Anything interesting happen lately?"

"No, not really. I mean, except that my two best friends went missing, I went on a rampage around my other three, got kidnapped by a giant scary snake who says I'm his daughter, and I'm having a mental breakdown. Most of my time had been occupied by my knitting club, though."

"Ah, I see. What was that about a mental breakdown, again?"

"You know, the usual road to insanity stuff."

"Yes, I do. I guess you're in luck because I have a soft spot for lunatics." He snapped his fingers, the chains falling off right after.

I rubbed my arms to try to get the soreness out of them. "Why are you helping me?"

"Eh, Apollo ain't half-bad. And he serves my wine at his parties."

He vanished, leaving behind a faint scent of grapes. I felt along the wall as I walked. I was weakened a lot by hunger, but I went as fast as I could. I took a lantern off a hook, holding it out as I kept walking. I got increasingly tired with each step. Just keep walking, walking, walking. Just keep walking, walking, walk-

"Ow!"

I walked right into a ladder. Do not ask me how I did that with a lantern to light my way. I do stuff like that a lot, in case that happened to slip by you. I crawled up the ladder carefully. I felts something wooden above me after about twenty rungs, which was much higher than I wanted to think about. I pushed the wooden door open above me, hauling myself out quickly. I kicked the door shut, black dust flying over the trapdoor and around my sneakers.

I turned slowly in a full circle. It was completely ash. There were not any stumps at all. The whole forest was gone. Now I knew why Demeter and Artemis were on my side as I watched little fires still burning here and there.

I tried to calculate where I was. Result: I have no clue. I started running since there is really not much else you can do in the middle of a dead forest with no weapons or supplies. I knew my bow and arrow were a part of the ash. A nearby fire burst into a huge wall of flames. Welcome to a minefield, Soleil. I focused on the ground ahead of me and not my hunger or tiredness.

I counted twenty-four total fires that blew up when I got near them before I reached the park bench area. Police where everywhere but I managed to get by unnoticed. I almost went completely past the swing set. I did a double-take, realizing that five swings were currently occupied. Nick, Nico, Tess, Max, and Ana were all sitting there in Greek armor, weapons at the ready. I have no idea when Nico and Tess got there, but I was more than happy to see them. Oh, shoot, did I really forget to mention the others?

Everyone Camp Half-blood camper was standing behind them.


	16. Chapter 16: My Water Breaks

_**Chapter 16: My Water Breaks**_

"We know he has an army," Nick stated. "That, we are one hundred percent sure of."

My apologies had already been given and accepted, so now it was on to serious business, something you all know I am not always the best at. We were all huddled around a table in a cheap motel faaaaar from the park. We had half-bloods stationed all over Philadelphia.

"But where are their headquarters?" Max asked, looking around the table with slightly widened eyes. I knew he was not really used to this considering how little time he had spent training as a demigod.

Nico stared at Max. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say the park," he said flatly.

"Oh, yeah."

"I'm going to take another wild guess and say you're stupid, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes," Ana corrected, patting Max's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not bright either." She looked up at me with a small smile. Her jaw instantly dropped. "Everyone! Out!"

Everyone filed out of the room quickly, making quick glances over their shoulder as I shrugged, not knowing what was going on. Ana grabbed my arm, raising it up so I could look at it. The snake burn was writing furiously as she stared at it. How could she see it? I pulled my arm away self-consciously. She yanked it back toward her again, placing her hand on the snake.

"He's getting closer," she said, looking up at me urgently. "We have to hurry."

"How close is he?" I asked.

"He's moving a mile every five minutes. He's thirteen miles away."

"He'll be here in almost an hour then." I flung open the door to the hall were everyone was crowded around the door, trying to act as if they had not been listening. "Get in!"

I smoothed out the map on the table we had been gathered around earlier. I circled the park area and the motel area with a blue marker. Ana used the red marker to draw Python's path, marking the spot where he was currently with a large X. I sent Max and a daughter of Ares out to gather up all the demigods in the city. Nick drew X's where we needed campers from certain parents, using different colored markers and pens. I set up a plan for the archers on a nearby hill. Max and I would be leading them.

"I want every Athena, Ares, and Enyo camper on the front line," I told Nick. "All other gods of war in the next, along with the best swordsmen in the camp. Behind them, everyone else." I made a large black X, slightly to the left of the lines. "Anyone with a spear will go here. They'll make the first move, and then form a phalanx."

Tess ran into the room, slightly out of breath. "The Hunters are all set!"

"Good."

She leaned over the map, pushing Nico and Nick to the sides a little so she could get a good view. "We'll go for an ambush from behind. We'll hide in the alleys, buildings, anything nearby. After the first move, we'll attack."

"Brilliant idea," Nick said, "if we didn't already have people doing that."

"The more the merrier, right?"

"You'll go for an aerial attack. We've got fifteen pegasi. I want you leading because you can talk with the horses. You'll wait behind the hill where the archers are. Go over when Soleil gives you the signal. Make five shots from the sky, land, and fight in the second line. Order the pegasi to go back and get the rest of the Hunters. Repeat that until all the Hunters are grounded."

She saluted him. "Whatever you say, Commander St. Vincent."

"I'll be waiting in the second line."

"You're first line," I reminded him.

"Sh, I'm second."

Tess smiled warmly. "You can be first line. I can take care of myself."

"Psh, I'm not going to be in the second line just to protect you."

"I never said you were."

"I'm a child of Athena, I know you were thinking it."

"Fine, what am I thinking about now?"

"Archery."

"Crap. Now?"

"Dogs."

She sighed. "Now?"

"Mark Twain's request that his autobiography not be published until one hundred years after he died."

"Okay, that's creepy."

He shrugged with a smirk. "I'm good like that." He sighed, rubbing his face. "Gods, I'm starting to sound like Norm."

"Did someone mention my Normy?"

Tess tried to hold back laugher as Nick held the map up over his face, pretending to make marks on it. I knew he was silently cracking up behind it, though. Ana blinked in astonishment before falling to the ground, laughing. I grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge, taking a sip while I tried not to choke from laughing too much.

"Did I miss something funny?" Heidi asked, walking more into the room.

"No, we're just all high," Nico said seriously as he walked into the room with the ice bucket. "Oh, hey Tess, Nick." He sent a wink in Nick's direction that everyone but Tess saw.

"Hey, Nico," Tess managed between laughs. "Heidi is looking…for her…Normy."

He closed his eyes for a brief second. "Pardon me while I barf."

Slowly, the truth settled on me that I had to tell Heidi Norman had gone missing. "Nico, go teach Ana some sword-fighting moves."

"Is the little one even here?"

Ana jumped up from off the floor, crossing her arms with attitude. "Who are you calling little?"

"You, Jiminy Cricket. Follow me."

They left the room as I motioned for Nick and Tess to beat it. They did not get it, so I tried again. Still, no comprende. Were these people really a son of Athena and a goddess? "Get out!" I barked, causing them to jump. When they passed by, I smacked Nic's arm perfectly so it flew out from his side, landing on Tess's shoulder. He took his arm away in a second as Tess sent him a death glare, which he turned on me. I took a sip of my water, breathed deeply and turned.

"Look, Heidi-"

"Back off of Norman," Her usual air-headed smile was gone as she looked at me balefully, "or Python won't be the only thing you'll have to worry about."

I shook my head, hardly believing she was being this petty right now. "You seriously think I like Norman that way?"

She slapped me across the face, causing me to find it slightly more believable. "Don't lie to me, bitch. I know you like him, so back off."

I squeezed the water bottle I was holding so much it completely crumpled and all the water shot out of it. Some of it hit a fuming blond that I wanted to choke to death at the moment. "Look, I've got a boyfriend. And unlike you, I believe guys and girls can just be friends. That's all Norm and I were."

"Norm? If you don't like him, why would you use his nickname?" She was seriously one word away from me returning her slap. "And you said were! That means you're more than friends now!"

"That means he's missing, idiot. Now get out of this room because I have more important things to worry about than you and your empty head right now."

She ran out of the room, crying hysterically. Nick walked back in a few seconds later, pointing at his arm. "Not cool, Sol, not cool," he commented.

"I don't have time to explain my lame attempts to help you in your unrequited love things," I said with a small tired sigh as I moved back over to the map. "What's our estimated size? Oh, watch out for the water."

He leaped over the puddle, not seeming to be worried too much about how it got there. "We've got about three hundred campers. Sixty-five are archers. That's not including the forty-three Hunters and seventeen satyrs."

"And Python?" I glanced at my burn, which was still writhing horribly. I reminded me of when I had been chained to the wall, less than a day ago. That all seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago. At least I had no doubts Apollo was my father anymore.

"There's a _dracaena_ population of two hundred thirteen. I think they're all on Python's side, fighting for him. There are no other gods fighting for him. We don't know about the other monsters he might have with him."

"Okay. This means our chances of winning are kind of high. Gear up. Max should be back in about twenty minutes. Tell him to see me when he gets here."

"No problem. By the way, want me to ask my brother Eddie if you can borrow his bow?"

"No, I want him as an archer. Josh is lending me his second one."

"Alrighty then." He turned around to walk out. On his way out the door he bumped into someone. "Nicolette!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Nicki said, pushing past him.

Nicki, short for Nicolette, was Norman and Nick's little sister. Her dad has a bit of a thing for N. Nicki was thirteen years old. She had her sword by her side. I knew se had a knife up her black sweatshirt sleeve, as always. She brushed some lint off her black jeans that was matching the lime green fitted tee she was wearing with a black skull on it. She does not always dress the way you would expect a daughter of Athena to dress.

"Hey, Nicki," I said. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been living with my dad. Someone from camp told me there was a battle with Python, so I flew down here. Where am I?"

"First line."

"No, no, no," Nick interjected, rushing back in from where he had been standing in the doorway.

"Please, don't start, Nicholas," Nicki begged. The three St. Vincents all use their full names when talking to or about each other, just to make it slightly less confusing.

"I don't want you in the first line. Stay farther back."

"Just as long as you're kicking butt!" I said quickly. "Besides, we already have enough Ares and Enyo kids."

"Enyo kids?" Nicki yelled. "This is so not fair! Shylock is dead!"

She pulled her knife out of her sleeve before running out of the room. Nick pinched the bridge of his nose, debating for a few seconds before running out after her. I was left all alone in the room. I leaned against the windowsill, looking outside. Demigods milled around below. Nick pulled Nicki away from where she was already fighting with some kid that looked vaguely familiar. Nick pushed Nick behind him as someone sent an arrow flying through the air with a bad shot. They both went over to help Nico with Ana, who was having a hard time finding a good sword.

I looked back at the door to the room. Time was running out, I knew that all too well. I had been hoping Norman would burst through the door, say something that would tick me off, apologize, and be ready to fight. It was too late for that. He was not coming back. I looked outside again. A faint smoke cloud was building in the distance. I watched it slowly grow, thinking about how I was going to tell Max.


	17. Chapter 17: Max Gets a Job Duck!

_**Chapter 17: Max Gets a Job**_

I opened the door after a brief knock came from the other side. It was Max, smiling excitedly. I asked him to come in and sit down in a surprisingly calm manner. He practically skipped in, sitting on the end of one of the beds. I leaned against the table with the map on it. For a while, we stayed there in silence. Slowly Max's smile melted away and he set his bow down next to him. He rested his elbows on his knees and he leaned forward and placed his head on his hands. I still did not know how to tell him.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked seriously.

I tried to smile but could not manage to do it, something I was not used to. "No, Max, you're not in trouble. We need to talk."

He knew I was completely serious about this, and I am not too serious about a lot of things. "What is it, Soleil?"

"Okay, so, I'm the only daughter of Apollo, as you may or may not know. Also, as you know, I'm not too big on history, Greek or any other kind, but I know Apollo never had many daughters. Maybe he had one every fifty or one hundred years or so. But, he's had a lot of sons."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I would have asked Josh, but he's only thirteen and it's a big responsibility."

"What is a big responsibility?"

"Apollo killed Python. Apollo is a guy. I am a girl. You are a guy. Understand?"

Max swallowed nervously as if he was about to answer an extremely hard homework problem in front of a whole class. "You want _me_ to kill Python?"

"It makes sense."

"Kind of, but not really."

"Everything kind of but not really makes sense to you."

"_You_ came on this quest, though."

"It wasn't a quest."

"It wasn't an official quest. Nevertheless, _you_ went searching for Python so _you_ should kill him."

"But you're Apollo's son. His sons are his pride and joy. You went searching for Python, too, by coming here."

"You started it off."

"Python has gotten in my head before. He plays with the mind. He made me think I was his child. He made me doubt Apollo. He'll try again out there today. When the mind is attacked once, it's weakened. If he tries to play with my mind I won't be able to resist."

"And you think I will?"

"Yes! He's expecting me to try to kill him so he will be focused on me, not you."

"I guess. But…how do I kill him?"

"The same way Apollo did. An arrow through his head. Please do this, Max, for our dad."

He clenched his fist as he set his face in determination. "Fine. I'm going to go practice some archery."

"I'll have your back, okay?"

He stood up stiffly. "Fine."

"Max, I believe you can do this."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."


	18. Chapter 18: Get Ready, Get Set, Kill

_**Chapter 18: Get Ready, Get Set, Kill**_

Ana left the room in her full Greek battle armor after we had gone over the plan once more with everyone else. I turned to pick up my bow off the bed after she was gone. I froze with my hand outstretched. It was not the bow I was borrowing from josh. It was bigger, and solid gold. I lifted it up to examine it. It was the perfect weight for me, even more perfect than my own bow. The quiver was ivory colored, with twenty arrows already in it. I slid the bow into the quiver and slung it across my shoulder. Another new weapon was on the table when I turned around again. It was a celestial bronze knife. When I picked it up, I noticed a diamond on the hilt of it that almost looked gray. When I looked closer, I saw that it was shaped like an owl.

Then the knife was gone from my hands. Instead I was holding a small clip with the same owl diamond on it. I pulled my hair back, using the clip to keep back a little strand that had slipped loose. I made a mental note to somehow thank Athena. I knew she had sent it to me, probably as a way to let me know she had changed her position on Apollo and his whereabouts. I left the room, heading for the door, which I had a lot of trouble with when I tried to close it. It must have gotten caught on a thread on the rug or something. Of course, when the thread broke, the door slammed shut, sending me flying backward against the opposite wall.

I jogged up the hill when I got to it, trying to get my blood flowing even more than it already was. I looked back over my shoulder, realizing the motel was almost out of sight. I looked over our little army. They were lined up on a street. The hill was in a field just a little bit behind the last line, to the right of the road. There were a few buildings along the road, the spear-throwers perched on top of the one of the higher ones. The pegasi waited impatiently behind the hill with the Hunters. I checked over the sixty-five archers under my command. Max stood next to me in the front. I looked down at Nick, who had finally agreed to be in the first line, and Ana. Ana looked nervous but ready to face what was coming at her. Nick gave me a thumb's up. Nico was leadin ghte attack from behind so he was hiding somewhere behind the buildings.

They came into view in the shape of a giant phalanx. There must have been every _dracaena_ in the world in it. Behind them was a group of at least one hundred _empusa_. Then, there were about one hundred fifty more demigods and other monsters, some of which I recognized as hellhounds and telekhines. There was a giant lion, too, and the Minotaur. They out-numbered us, and Python was not even in sight yet.

I turned, realizing I had four of the Hecate kids under my control. I motioned all of them forward.

"Your mom created the _empusa_, right?" I asked them.

"Kind of," one responded.

"Each of you take five archers and replace the spear-throwers when they get down off the roof. Shoot from there, focusing mainly on the _empusa_."

They obeyed me. Nick looked up at me wearily so I gave him a quick thumb's up. I turned my focus back to the advancing army, who were still very far away. Even though they were not even close enough to have an arrow hit us, I still felt the huge knot in my stomach manage to grow to a size about two times bigger. Two pegasi flew over them and deposited the commanders on the ground. One was a _dracaena_, I could tell from how she walked, in full battle armor, and the other looked like a human. Had Python tried to take the form of a human for this?

I pulled my bow out of the quiver. All the other archers behind me followed suit. I put total focus on a small break I saw in the phalanx. Max gasped, completely breaking my concentration. What was so shocking at this point that it caused him to gasp? Like, seriously? I looked over our whole army, all of which were fine, but had a shocked expression that was similar to Max's. I looked at the front of the army, where everyone was staring. Strutting like the commander he was, Norman St. Vincent was leading Python's army. I looked to the side at Max.

"Why does this surprise you so much?" I asked him with an edgy tone. There was no response. "EVERYONE, GET READY! Archers, set your bows!"

They did as I said. Python's army continually got closer as the anxiousness began to show through on everyone's face, even mine. I refocused my attention ion the chink in the phalanx. I would have been worrying about the Hades I would make Norman pay for this, but I knew Nick had it covered. I gave Max a reassuring nod before he set his bow.

"Take your aim!"

Python's army stopped at the end of the road. They were perfectly stationed so they would not see the spear-throwers when they came to the edge of the roofs of the buildings. Python's army charged forward after some command yelled by Norman that I could not hear. Nick gave the spear-throwers the signal. After the spears were out of their hands the demigods practically flew down the fire escapes with their swords and knives at the ready. The Hecate kids and the other archers took their place along the edge. I gave them a second to take their aim. Nick led the charge forward as Nico led the one from behind.

"FIRE!"


	19. Chapter 19: All Is So Not Fair in

_**Chapter 19: All Is So Not Fair in Love and War**_

"Hunters, go!" I screamed. "Archers, hit the deck!"

All the archers crouched down as Tess led the fifteen Hunters over the battle. A Pegasus was hit by a spear and went down, with the Hunter. My arrow had taken out two _dracaena_. I was glad when I realized we were too far away to be taken out by a spear, From what I could see, there were no archers on the other side. That seemed a bit fishy, but then again, Python could not have been too big of a fan of archers.

"Up and at 'em!" Max yelled, jumping up.

It was weird following orders from Max, but I did it anyway. I set my pretty gold bow with the next arrow I grabbed. The phalanx had broken after I shot the two _dracaena_ through the break in the phalanx. I shot at five _dracaena_ in a row, making me anxious. Where was Python?

Nick cut through the advancing _dracaena_ easily, their armor weak and full of chinks. He cut on in half, took its spear, and threw it to skewer three others. He knew his brother was most likely doing twice as good as him, making him nervous. He laughed a little at the through of his brother, Norman, the commander of Python's army. He would leave it up to Soleil to try to kill Norman.

Tess stood up on Blackjack's back, flipping off of him onto the ground silently and lightly. She used her knife to cut a _dracaena_ across the neck, stealing her helmet. Tess sent Blackjack back to wait for the next signal from Soleil for the Hunters to attack, led by a Hunter named Marina this time. A hellhoud leaped toward Tess from her right. In midair, a giant white wolf crashed into it. Tess ran forward.

A demigod tried to challenge her as she ran. She leaped over them, making them turn around. Like quicksilver she cut their chest, twirled to behind them, and stabbed them in the back. Thalia Grace ran by with Aegis out. Tess sliced off the head of three _dracaena_ who cowered back in fear from the large shield. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flying toward her.

Then Nick was lying on the ground. Tess's ring became her bow again, five arrows appearing on the string. One took out the demigod who had tried to shoot her and the other four went through four telekhines. Tess knelt next to Nick, who had an arrow sticking out under his armor. Tess swore in her mind as she saw it.

"Hey, it's fine," Nick said with a little bit of trouble. "I've got so many layers on I barely felt it." He pulled the arrow out with a loud groan he tried his best to disguise. "I just need to get a bandage quickly."

Tess instinctively reached for his arm. "I'll help you."

"No. If I didn't want you in this battle, would I have just saved your life? Duck." She did so as a spear flew over her head. "Now go kick some monster butt! Pardon me."

He struggled to stand, having a hard time walking, too. He ripped off the end of his sweatshirt sleeve, rolled it up, and stuck it under his armor to stop the blood flow. Tess watched his sister, Nicki, help him away from the fight. Tess turned. She kicked the blood arrow away from her feet before whipping out both hunting knives, diving into the fight knives-first.

Willow Thorne, a young camper, turned around in a full circle. Had her best friend Nicki not just been behind her? She pulled out her rarely used sword from its sheath with some reluctance. She made grass grow around the legs of a nearby _empusa_. The thing hissed at her aggressively. Shylock, another camper, stabbed her from behind as she began to create a fire around Willow. Willow stamped out the fire quickly.

"Thanks?" she said to the boy.

"Whatever," he muttered before running off to execute four telekhines in a row.

With the help of a boy named Aaron Sprint, Nico managed to attack the Minotaur from behind. Aaron used his fling sneakers to launch himself right onto the Minotaur's back. He, per se, grabbed the bull by the horns and started to steer him. Nico kicked the Minotaur where even monsters do not particularly enjoy being kicked.

Aaron flipped himself off the Minotaur as it fell to the ground with cries of pain. It pounded the ground angrily. Nico tossed Aaron a knife quickly so they could both stab the Minotaur in the spine at the same time. They high-fived each other as it disintegrated. There was a sound like someone clearing their throat from just behind them. They turned together, staring at a man with a tail.

"Dr. Thorne," Nico said vehemently. "So great to see you." He spun his sword to calm his nerves before demolishing this horrible creature. Aaron was hovering a couple inches off the ground. "This is my new friend, Aaron Sprint. He is going to help me send you to the deepest pits of Tartarus. I'm sure you will find his company enjoyable."

After Nicki sent her brother back into battle with his new bandage, she went back in, too. Five _dracanae_ surrounded her. She pulled her sword, taking a deep breath to take it all in before forming a quick strategy. She spun, cutting two across the face in a flash. She stabbed the one right in front of her in the neck. She swung the sword to behind her and stabbed up under one's armor while she side kicked the one on her left. The two with icky blood on their faces advanced on her. She slid the knife out of her sleeve, spun it like a baton on one side of her sword and caught it on the other side, just to annoy the _dracaena_. She juggled the sword and knife a little, tossing them into the opposite hand. The _dracaena_ threw their spears angrily.

Nicki ducked easily. The spears went through the chest of the _dracaena_ behind her. Suddenly, the two in front of her disintegrated with shocked looks on their scaly faces. As she stood up, Shylock began doing tricks with his own two knives. "You aren't the only one who can show off," he said. He kicked the handle of a knife as he dropped it so it flew at Nicki. She dropped her sword and caught the knife, which was actually much sturdier and in way better shape than the knife she already had with her. The weight was even much better for her.

"Anyone asks, I didn't help you, 'kay?"

"Most definitely," she responded.

She put her sword in its sheath before turning to take on one of Python's demigods with her new knife. If only that poor boy had known who he was dealing with.

Nick backed up into someone, making his whole body ache. He spun, sword raised, ready to strike. The move made him feel like his whole side was tearing up. When he recognized who the person who he had bumped into, he knocked their helmet clean off with the hilt of his sword.

"Nick!" Norman shouted indignantly.

"Archers don't wear helmets," Nick reminded him. "Gotta make it fair."

"True."

The two brothers did a little high-five/half-hug thing before splitting ways. Nick looked to the side, catching Tess's eye as she stared at him through a swordfight with two demigods. She was gripping her knives so hard her knuckles were pure white. She walked away without a word, slicing anything in her path. Thankfully, it was all _empusa_ and hellhounds. Nick knew he would have to deal with this later, if he even lived that long. Out of pure anger and frustration at a large amount of things that his silent encounter with Tess had reminded him of, he stabbed a nearby demigod in the back. To this day, no one knows whose side the demigod was on.

"Josh, give me some arrows," I said as the pegasi came back from their last flight with the Hunters.

He handed me three without a sound. I focused my attention in on a hellhound that had just tackled a young daughter of Echo. I shot it easily Beside me, Max was remaining completely calm and collected. He just kept shooting, taking people or monsters out each time. I was as jumpy as ever. So, as you can imagine, when Norman popped up next to me out of basically nowhere I almost pinned the arrow on the donkey's neck. Such a pity the dang donkey's knife cut my last arrow in half.


	20. Chapter 20: Here We Go Again

_**Chapter 20: Here We Go Again**_

I held my bow out in front of me as a shield. Archers usually do not carry shields since we are for the most part kept out of the most dangerous parts of a battle. Norman tossed his shield to the side like it was nothing. "Got to be fair, right?"

I felt a freezing cold raindrop fall on my nose. Every archer was staring at me, waiting for what I was going to say. "What do you know about fair, Benedict Arnold?" I asked him sharply.

"Fine. I'll give you an even better chance of killing me." He took off all of his armor, and even his sweatshirt. He must have been freezing in only his t-shirt…Who gave a pegasi's poop though? He strapped his quiver diagonally across his back and pulled out his sword. "Is it fair enough now that you have the upper hand?"

I smacked him across the face, having gotten the idea to do so when he said hand. "Yeah, a little."

I did a matrix move to avoid his sword as it swung out. I dropped my quiver to the ground, pulling the clip from my hair. It turned into the knife as I stood back up. I deflected his overhead swing, cutting his shoulder right after. He swung at my ankles but I jumped, throwing in a kick. He feel back. If he had been wearing any armor, I would be the one who was in pain at that moment. Then again, I had not armor on either so maybe it was fair. I chose to believe is still was not.

Norman jumped back up, shaking some raindrops out of his hair. I swung at his face. He did not even use his sword but just reached out, grabbing my wrist. I was afraid my wrist would break from the grip he had on it. I turned the knife in my hand, trying to push the tip into his hand that was holding my wrist. He let go and pulled his own knife. I blocked his attempt to stab me. I did a high-kick to kick the sword out of his raised arm so it went flying down the hillside. He did not even look back at it. I tried my best to grip my knife but the now pouring rain was making it hard to do so. Norman and I circled each other, each of us waiting for the other to make the next move.

Norman went first, charging. I jumped out of the way but his knife managed to nick my elbow. I did a roundhouse kick that hit Norman on the same cheek I had smacked earlier. He fell to the ground from the force. I placed my foot on his chest so he could not get up and kicked the knife out of his hand before he could stab my leg. It spun straight up out of his hand so I managed to catch it. I knelt down on one knee on Norman's chest, placing the tips of both knives against his neck.

"Last words?" I managed to say.

"Are you crying?" he asked me, squinting up at me.

"It's the rain, you idiot."

"Oh my gods, you are crying."

"I had buffalo chicken for lunch," I stammered, trying to think of an excuse.

"I'm sorry, Sol. I had to be on Python's side."

"Were you forced to?"

"No, not really."

"Then I'm sorry, too, Norman."

I lifted the knives up over my head just a second before an earthquake hit. It was so bad that it felt like the world was being thrown in every direction possible. My fight with Norman just had to be on the side of a hill so that when this freak earthquake hit I fell to the side. We both started rolling down the hill, Norman's knife slipping from my hand. While rolling down the hill, I spotted my quiver right in my path so I snatched it up before I rolled painfully over it and flung it over my shoulder when I managed to come to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Norman had managed to get a hold of his knife again, crashing right into me after I stopped. A few seconds later the earthquake stopped just as suddenly as it had started. I stood up shakily after taking a very, very deep breath.

Norman wasted no time at all after he stood up. He grabbed my neck, pulling me back. I tried to stab him in the side but he grabbed the handle of my knife before I could. The rain made it all too easy for him to pry the knife out of my hand with just one hand. He used his other hand to hold his knife at my knife, throwing my own knife off to the side. My quiver dug into my back painfully. Norman tugged on it, causing even more pain for my spine.

"Heidi's gonna killll me," I sang.

"Why?" Norman asked, adjusting his hold on his knife so it would not slip out of his hand.

"Because I'm within a foot of you."

"And?"

"She has this crazy idea I like you."

"But you're dating that Lugey kid."

"His name is Logan!" A demigod battling a hellhound went by us. I sighed wistfully at the thought of Logan. "He's so nice, you know? And he really likes helping people, volunteers a lot. And he always listens to everything you say. He remembers it all, too. He gets along with everyone. Gods, I miss him."

And I really did. Not until that very moment did I realize just how much I missed him, though. We had been dating for about two months before I left Furrows. I wanted to leave him a letter, I had even started writing one, but I just could not bring myself to do that, especially if I ended up dead.

Before I could even come up with a way to stall Norman longer, another earthquake hit, but this time it was only on the hill. No one was even up there anymore. Of course, all the other archers had gone to the other side of the hill so they could not see that I was being held hostage. As the hill kept shaking, all the fighting slowly ceased. My stomach dropped as I realized what was coming next.

Suddenly, the hill split open, a green mist spilling out from the large crack. I watched my gold bow slide down the wet grass on the hill, stopping about twenty feet away. I saw Max run around the side of the hill, staring at me in alarm when he saw me. I shook my head to let him know not to worry about me. Everyone watched the hill with wide eyes. Slowly, through the green mist, came a giant green serpent with glowing red eyes.


	21. Chapter 21: Hey! Scale Butt!

_**Chapter 21: "Hey! Scale Butt!"**_

"Can't kill him now, can you?" Norman whispered against my ear.

"Such a pity," I said dryly as Python continued to uncoil from the crack in the hill. I felt the fear slowly spreading throughout my body as I started to think of all the things that could go wrong with the plan.

"You wouldn't have been able to anyway."

"Pardon?"

"The arrow that Apollo used was a solid gold arrow made by giants."

I glanced over at Max, looking at the normal arrows in his quiver. "I really don't think it matters."

"Suit yourself, Sol."

Python finally finished uncoiling himself. He was as thick and tall as a one thousand year old redwood tree. I looked at Max, who seemed fairly calm given what he was about to do. Python turned his cruel red eyes on me with the equivalent of a smirk on his ugly, scaly face. I swear, if he tried any more of those "you are my child, Sssssoleil" mind games on me, I would stab myself with Norman's knife before Norman even got the chance to do it himself.

Python flicked his tongue, causing the grass all over the field to die and a building at the end of the street to blow up. Python shot down the hill, the ground turning black and smoky wherever his body passed. I peeked down at my burn, which was now bright red. Python slithered nearby, just barely five feet away. He smelled like a combination of sewage, blood, ashes, and rotting flesh. I bit my lip to keep from gagging. He went in a full circle around Norman and I. How is it that even though he had a knife to my throat, Norman's presence was comforting? I guess I am more screwed up than I originally thought I was.

"_You know_," Python hissed, "_thisss boy begged me to command my army. He sssaid he idolized me. He only arrived thisss morning, but he hassss proven to be mossst helpful. I jussst might let him pledge allegiance to me for eternity_."

"Thank you, sir," Norman said gratefully.

"You're disgusting," I spat at Norman.

"_And you're a ssstupid little girl!_" Python screeched in his sickening voice. He rushed back up the hill quicker than I was expecting, taking no more than a couple seconds. "_Do you dare to challenge me? Ha! You can't! Your father did the firssst time and sssucceeded, but the sssecond time…_" He burped contently. I could already see the hole in the O-zone getting two times bigger. "_And you can't even essscape your captor. Poor, poor daughter of Apollo._"

"Hey!" Max suddenly yelled at Python. "Hey, Scate Butt!"

Python swerved indignantly to face Max, who had already taken his aim. I prayed to all the gods on my side that this would work, that Max would shoot straight. Python flew toward Max at an alarming rate. Max shot.

And missed.


	22. Chapter 22: How Does Gold Sound?

_**Chapter 22: How Does Gold Sound?**_

Python's jaw widened before he swallowed Max whole. I felt extremely light-headed as I watched. My hand subconsciously moved up to my head, where I felt something in my hair. It was the owl diamond clip. I pulled it out, the owl staring back at me as if it knew what I had to do. It turned into the knife in almost an instant. I slashed the back of Norman's hand, causing him to drop his knife in shock. I turned and punched him in the eye, making a promise to myself to deal with him later. The knife became a clip again as I reached it up to put it back in my hair.

I scooped up my golden bow after running stealthily and quickly over to it. Python was still relishing his new meal gleefully. He turned lazily to face where he thought I was still being held by Norman. Automatically, I set my bow, already focused on my target. I let go of the string before Python could even register the scene before him. The arrow shot through the air faster than any arrow I had ever shot, yet it seemed to move like molasses. A song that sounded like gold itself sang throughout the field as the arrow flew, everyone watching for that one second when nothing mattered but that arrow.

It went right through Python's skull, between his eyes.

Everyone watched as the green mist curled all the way around Python's body like a cocoon, completely covering him. It stayed there for a second before slipping back into the crack in the hill. Python's body was still there, but his soul, or his equivalent of a soul, was gone.

I finally got a good look at the arrow I had shot at Python. My quiver had been empty last time I checked, and the arrow was gold, like Apollo's. Norman had no bow with him, but he had a quiver on his back. He had not tugged on my quiver before, but put something into it. I spun on my heels, marching to where he was holding a hand over the eye I had punched. I started slapping his arm.

"You! Jerk!" I yelled at him. "You! Gave! Me! The! Stupid! Golden! Arrow! Where did you even get it?"

"Where do you think I've been?" Norman asked me, his eyes twinkling as a small smirk formed on his face. "I was hunting down some giants to make me an arrow."

I continued hitting him. "You! Idiot! Are! You! Suicidal? And why couldn't you just give me the arrow?"

"Python knew I had it. If I was on his side, he would think you had no chance."

I hit him even more. "Why! Didn't! You! Tell! Me?"

He grabbed my arms and pinned them to my side. "Look, I know I'm a jerk, and an idiot, and anything else you're thinking, and I know I annoyed the crap out of you. I'm so sorry for putting you through this. Will you forgive me?"

"No. That is utterly impossible." I rolled my eyes at him. "I already forgave you, like, forever ago. Stay in the loop, man!"

"There's one more thing." He clicked a button on his watch, causing his whole body to shimmer a little before he vanished. "I got a special gift from my mom," I heard his voice say even though he was nowhere in sight. "I gave you that knife, by the way. I think a thank you is in order."

"Ah, that explains the door," I remarked, ignoring his last little bit about a thank you.

He came back into view. "Yup." He took hold of my hand. "Let's go get your dad."

He ran over to the place where Python's body still was. I kind of had to follow because of the death grip he had on my hand. Norman stabbed under one of Python's scales along his side, carving a giant hole. I took over after deciding that it was not big enough. When we were done, we stepped back, a crowd forming around us. They all smiled at me but seemed too scared to approach. Well, all except one: Heidi. She stormed towards me, her face green with envy.

Apollo and Max leaped out of the hole in Python's side, covered in gunk. Everyone cheered, and then simultaneously said "ew". Since Apollo is my dad and Max is my brother, I really only took part in the second half. Heidi froze where she was, halfway to me. Oh my gods, she was giving my dad a look that was much more than friendly. Apollo snapped his fingers so, _BAM_, the gunk had vanished from him and Max. Apollo walked up to Heidi, leaning over to kiss her hand.

"Gonna let your lady be my new mommy?" I asked Norman, raising an eyebrow.

"Hades no," he growled. Tell anyone this and I will kill you, but Norman is hot when he is angry.

Norman walked quickly over to Heidi, pulling her away from my dad without a word and kissing her. My dad backed off with his hands raised a little bit in surrender. He spotted me and walked over, smiling brightly. Literally.

"I'd say you did a pretty good job," he said, looking around at the field full of monster dust and dead or injured demigod bodies. I could not even let myself look at it for too long without shuddering.

I looked over at where Heidi was whispering something to Norman. "I'd say you failed," I commented.

"Nah, she was kind of ditzy. Wasn't that Athena's kid? The one you're, like, in love with?"

"Yes, he's a son of Athena, and no, I am far from in love with him."

"Then why do you think he's cute when he's angry?"

How did he even know that? "Hot, not cute." I covered my mouth because I was suddenly aware of a shadow behind me. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely." He checked his watch. "But we have to go to Olympus."

"Can I have like one min-"

_Poof!_ I was standing before the twelve Olympians.


	23. Chapter 23: Grandma Job Description: Gui

_**Chapter 23: Grandma Occupation Description: Guide**_

"Yada, yada, yada, you've got one wish," Zeus said, obviously annoyed with the fact that I had just saved the world and all.

"Hey!" Apollo said suddenly. "She saved me! She deserves a party!" Yet again, no mention of the world…

"I beg to differ," Athensa said, a slight look of prudent distaste on her face as she looked at Apollo. "You have one wish, hero."

I took a deep breath, realizing that now was my chance to ask for the one thing I had been wanting for years. My voice was steady and confident as I spoke.

"I wish I had not been born a demigod."

I checked my reflection in the mirror in my dorm room, frowning a bit when I realized I still had that stupid cut over my eyebrow. Where had that even come from? I pull my straight dark brown hair back off my face, noting that I had bags under my brown eyes. Why was I so tired? It must have been from lack of sleep over winter break. I had been up late at night, worrying about things, my mom mostly. She had been acting so weird lately. Kind of crazy, to be honest.

I was also worrying right now about the whereabouts of my roommate and best friend, Ana. She had not answered any calls, texts, messages, or e-mails from me all during break. She was supposed to have arrived back at Furrows the day before. I intended to sit alone at breakfast so I could just think for a little while. My boyfriend, Logan, took one look at me from the breakfast line before walking over, knowing something was wrong. He can read people really well like that. He sat down next to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I lied. "I just feel kind of…weird."

"I know you've been worrying about Ana so I asked around, but no one knows where she is. I know that might not comfort you, but-"

"No, it did." Not.

"So, are we going to the New Year's Formal?"

"Yup. I got my dress and everything."

We spent the rest of breakfast talking about our vacations. Logan had gone to Hawaii with his family. On my way to my first class, French, I passed a close friend of Ana's. I turned to catch up with him, tapping the kid on the shoulder. All I knew about him was that he was really smart and a friend of Ana's. He turned, seeming a little surprised to see me.

"Hi?" he said uncertainly.

"Hey, I'm a friend of Ana's," I introduced. Wow, he had really gray eyes…

"Yeah, I know. Mary, right?"

"Marie."

"Close enough. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you heard from Ana."

"Yes, I have. She'll be here tomorrow. Nico was supposed to tell you, but I guess he must have forgotten." He slapped some kid with long dark hair on the back of the head when he passed by. "Hope you didn't worry."

"No, not too much. I just almost had a nervous breakdown, no big deal, though. Thanks, uh, Norman?"

"No, Nick. Norman was my brother's name."

How had I gotten Norman from Nick? The only letter they even had in common was "N", and it is not even the same amount of syllables. "You have a brother?"

"Twin."

"Wow, I never knew you had a twin brother. Does he go here?"

He paused, biting his lip a little. "He drowned a couple years ago."

My breath caught as Nick walked away sadly. I jogged in an attempt to get to class in time. I was distracted the rest of the day. What Nick had told me about his brother had a strangely huge impact on me. How could it, though? It was not as if I knew Norman, or could have done anything to have saved him. I did not sleep well that night.

Ana crashed through the dorm right before I left for breakfast the next morning. She shooed me out without a word, and I did not see her until second period. We were lab partners. It was awkward because she refused to look at me as she sat down. The teacher began to take attendance.

"Flier, Max?" the teacher called.

"He won't be coming back to Furrows," Ana said so quietly the teacher barely heard her.

Ana ran out of the room unexpectedly a few minutes later. Everyone stared at the door in confusion. I ran after her, following her as she went down the hall. I chased her all the way to the green house. I stopped at the doorway, not wanting to go in. I tried, but I just could not. I felt like I should be remembering something, but I just kept drawing up blank.

"Ana, what's wrong?" I asked as she sat down on the wicker seat.

"Nothing," she sobbed. That really sounded like nothing.

"Tell me."

"Max…Max died."

I froze. "Your cat Max, right?"

"No! Max! Max Flier!"

No, no, no, no, no. I rushed in to sit next to her. "How?"

"Why would you care?" she said with enough sting to scare a whole colony of killer bees away.

"Because then maybe I can help you get through it." I was not very close to Max, but Ana had been friends with him for a long time.

"It was a serpent."

"A rattlesnake?"

"No, serpent. A giant, horrible, cruel serpent!" She stood up. "And now Max is dead and that serpent is going to destroy the world!"

I was beginning to think that maybe Ana was not one hundred percent there. "Just calm down. We can talk this out and-"

She pointed at me, her eyes wild. "It's all your fault!"

"What?"

"It's all your-"

A crack sudden broke through the ground, sucking Ana down. I tried to grab her hand but she vanished, my hand clutching thin air. Green mist began to curl out of the crack as it began to close again. I ran out of the green house, the whole ground shaking. I heard people yelling that there was an earthquake. Out the window, I saw a scaly creature break through the ground. I started running down the stairs in a panic. Beneath me, the stairs crumbled away. I went into freefall, the marble steps bellow rushing toward me quicker than I cared for them to be.

I hit them.

I blinked. I looked at my dad, who was examining his nails "innocently". I knew what he had just done just by his expression.

"Make your wish, demigod," Zeus said.

"I wish…" I hesitated. "I wish for the credit of Python's defeat to go to my father, Apollo."

All the gods were shocked, and they immediately started bickering. I looked at my dad, who snapped his fingers. I was instantly back where I had been standing before he had snapped us to Olympus. Everyone was milling about a bit aimlessly. How much time had passed? I looked around and saw Max helping Ana with a nasty cut on her leg. I ran over, giving them both huge hugs.

"Um, what was that for?" Max asked.

"Just for being awesome," I responded.

"We are pretty awesome."

I went searching for Nick, who was talking to Tess, both of them looking pretty damn angry. I gave them both huge hugs anyway, making them extremely confused as I walked away. Why do friends get confused when you randomly give them bear hugs after stopping the world was being destroyed? I began my search for Nico just as a boy with winged shoes ran up to me. He looked to be about fourteen.

"Hey," he said. "Nico wanted me to tell you the Underworld had a pipe problem and he had to go help with the flooding. And you can't say no to Hades."

"No problem," I said to the kid in good spirits. I hugged him. "Thanks for helping out."

"Um, okay?" He ran away.

I turned to see Norman arguing with his sister. When I got within earshot, I found out the argument was about Heidi. Apparently Heidi had gotten on Nicki's bad side and now Nicki wanted to main her. I stepped forward to give them my input.

"I'm on Nicki's side," I said.

"See why I like her better than you?" Nicki asked Norman.

He looked at me quizzically. "No." He looked back at Nicki with a stern face. "And you can't main her!"

"Fine," Nicki consented. Rule number one with Nicki: never get on her bad side or you will most likely never live to regret it, in one piece or at all.

"Can we talk?" I asked Norman as Nicki walked away.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Don't be so enthusiastic."

It made him smile a little. "I'll try not to be."

We walked down the road, getting monster dust all over our shoes. I looked back to see my brothers and many others were helping with the injured campers. We stepped inside an empty bakery.

"Can we talk in here?" I asked. "Maybe we can steal some food. You know how I love illegally obtained cupcakes."

"Almost as much as me. Let's go."

I was slightly more than very shocked when we walked in. A woman, about thirty with light brown hair and tan skin, was standing behind the counter. Her hair was pulled back in a clip that looked like it was made of bronze. I walked up to the counter. Her eyes were brown and caring. She took one look at me before getting a cupcake from the display, handing it to me on a paper plate.

"It's free," she said with a smile.

"How did you know vanilla with chocolate was my favorite?"

She winked at me. "Women's intuition." She got another one like mine out. "Now one for this handsome young man?"

I spun in a full circle. "Where?"

"Now, now, be nice."

"Yeah, Sol, be nice," Norman said with a smile. "Unless you want this cupcake in your face."

I thought for a second. "That doesn't sound half-bad."

"Nah, I'm not gonna waste a cupcake on your face. I'm starving."

"Then eat, man, eat."

He sat down at a table near the window. The lady at the counter even refused when I offered her a drachma. She just smiled at me sweetly and told me to go eat with the "nice young gentleman". I still had no idea where this invisible perfect man was that she was talking about, so I settled for sitting with Norman.

"Are you going back to Furrows?" I asked him.

"Yup."

"Awesome."

"Is there a reason you wanted to talk to me?"

I put my cupcake down. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Hey, battle is my thing, no biggie."

"I didn't just mean for this. Thanks for helping me out. Like, always. I just wanted to thank you for, well, being my friend."

"I think I'm the one who should be thank you." He bit his cupcake thoughtfully. "My life would be very dull without you. I don't think I can picture my life without you. I mean, as a friend."

"Yeah, I am pretty amazing," I joked. I remembered what my dad had shown me on Olympus, and I got more serious. "I kinda have seen my life without you. It was horrible."

"Aw, it couldn't have been that bad."

"Maybe, but you were dead."

He stared at me.

"Then I died."

He remained silent.

"But it was just my dad showing me what would happen if I wished I had never been born a demigod."

"Don't ever make that wish."

"I didn't."

"Good. Look, Sol I've got your back." He lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Part of having your back is telling you when random bakery workers are staring at you like a grandchild of theirs."

I turned. The lady was staring at me as if I was her favorite granddaughter or something. I noticed the sign behind it. It took me a while to read the cursive, but I managed to make out that it said "Leto's Bakery". I turned back to Norman with a smile.

"Don't worry. She's cool."


	24. Chapter 24: Grinding 101

_**Chapter 24: Grinding 101**_

"Take care of him," Nicki said to me.

"Only if he embarrasses himself on a regular basis," I told her.

We said good-bye and I stepped away from the window. I helped Norman bring his bags up to his new dorm, where he was rooming with Max. I ran inside as fast as I could because of the below freezing temperatures. Then again, it was the middle of January so I should not have expected anything more. Norman had arrived almost two weeks after everyone else. I tried to get a look at the suit he was wearing to the New Year's Formal the next night, but he stole it away before I could get a good look. Later on he joined Ana and I in the lounge.

"Did you invite that Heidi girl?" Ana asked Norman when we were supposed to be finishing our Latin homework.

"Naw. She dumped me."

"Why?" I asked. It was not like I was dying to know or anything.

"She likes Marcus from the Ares cabin."

"Oh. Maybe you can go with Ana."

Max leaned against the couch on his elbows. "She's my date."

"You sound so thrilled," Ana said with a smile.

"I'm happy to go with you, I just hate suits. I'll probably choke myself when I do my tie."

"You're wearing a tie now."

"I'm wearing a bow tie to the formal, though. And my shirt is itchy."

Ana put all her books back in her bag, giving up on homework. "It's fine by me if you want to go shirtless, but the chaperones might disapprove."

Max crawled over the back of the couch. "Yeah, but not even my washboard tummy will distract fro my horrible dancing." He flailed his arms around randomly as an example.

"Just grind on people. It's easy. If you stick with the shirtless idea, it will be even better."

I held up my hands. "Can you guys please take this conversation elsewhere because it is really awkward."

Max ignored me. "Wait! I don't want to grind on you!"

"Thanks a lot," Ana said dryly.

"No, I want to. I mean I don't. I mean…how about I just ditch the dance?"

Ana started fixing her eyeliner. "Do that and I'll kill you."

"But you could go with Norm."

"No! Everyone here is going!"

"Fine." He took the makeup bag from Ana, tossing it in the trash.

"You jerk!" She smacked his shoulder. Big effect that had. "Whyd di you do that? I need that!"

"No, you don't. You wear too much makeup."

So now he was going to give her a makeup tutorial? I looked at Norman before this could get any weirder. "Foosball?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he agreed quickly.

We ran over to the foosball table, and Norman beat me. I owed him a bag of pretzel's now. Since I had no money with me he let it go. For now. I passed Ana teaching Max how to tie a bow tie on the way back to my dorm. She gave me a cautionary look. What was that for?


	25. Chapter 25: Promises to Break

Ana and I walked into the lounge where Max and Logan were waiting for us. They were both speechless, probably because of Ana. She had on a light pink dress that went to her knees, silver heels, and silver jewelry. Her hair was down with one silver clip on the side. She wore less makeup than usual, a more natural look. Max walk over to her.

"You look…" he started. He blinked. "Um…"

"Your tie is crooked," she said to save him as she fixed it. "Perfect."

"That's exactly it. You look perfect."

I covered my mouth. My brother had actually learned something from all the chick flicks Ana and I had made him watch with us. The two walked away. I turned to Logan, who was on the phone. He kept going to hang up, but the person on the other end kept calling him back to the phone. Eventually he was able to hang up and walked over to me.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"My buddy Archie got arrested for drugdealing," he said casually.

Logan, and Ana too (they live near each other) live right on the line of a neighborhood that is super rich and fancy and a neighborhood that is very poor and rundown. So basically the lawyers all live in the neighborhood next to their prostitutes. I know that sounds mean and stereotypical, but I am just quoting Ana's and Logan's descriptions.

"But enough about that," he continued. "You look beautiful."

"Not really."

"Yes, really."

No, not really. I mean, I was dressed up, and I looked not, but not beautiful. My hair was in a loose bun with a few of my curly strands hanging loose. My dress was just a simple cocktail dress. It was a gold color that shimmered in the light. It was knee length with spaghetti straps. I wore a white three-quarter sleeve sweater shrug over it. My sandal heels were gold, too, like my jewelry.

"Nah," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Yes! Now come on!"

Logan grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him. We practically ran to the formal. Logan led me inside as everyone turned. It must have been because we were late. Logan was smiling happily, and that was when I realized I rarely saw him smile. He was always just content, but not really happy. I had not even taken a seat when Ana pulled me onto the dance floor with a group of our friends.

After about a half-hour I went to get a drink, leaving my shrug at the table. At the drinks table I saw Norman. Well, his back was to me, but I knew it was him because the person was juggling five pieces of fruit. No one else I know can juggle that well. He tossed each piece to someone watching until he only had one left.

"Over here," I called.

He turned. The orange fell to the ground and he let it roll away. I walked forward. The people who had watched Norman juggle were still there, but I do not think he even noticed. Why was he so speechless? His mouth was hanging open a little. I noticed his tie was a silvery gray, which matched his eyes.

"You look nice," I said.

No response.

"Uh, Norman, you there?"

He blinked. "Yeah, sorry. You look-"

"I swear if you say horrifying, I will-"

"Beautiful."

"Why do people keep saying that?" I crossed my arms. "I do not."

"Fine, you don't."

"Thanks. I'm glad I can count on you to tell the truth."

"Exactly. You look like a goddess." I glared at him, but got a wink in return.

"Nice barrette," someone told me as they walked by.

"Thanks," I said. I reached up absently to touch the owl clip as I looked at Norman. "Did you make this or the giants?"

"My grandfather did. He was a son of Athena, too."

"Oh…" That seemed a little awkward, but not abnormal in the world of a demigod. "Who'd he make it for?"

"Uh, his girlfriend?"

"Oh." Why did that make me happy?

Logan appeared next to me, totally ignoring Norman. Logan took my hand and led me away. As we left the room, I saw Ana whispering something to Max. Since he was my brother, I would not be asking her for any details of her time at the dance. Or during the night. Soon, Logan had brought me up to the second floor, into an empty game room, and he began kissing me.

After a few minutes I pulled away, because something just seemed wrong. I do not know what it was, but it seemed extremely and incredibly wrong. Logan tried to kiss me again, but I pushed him away absently, trying to figure out what was wrong. He pinned my arms to my side and kissed me, reaching for the hem of my dress. I managed to struggle free.

"Stop," I told him sternly.

"Don't tell me what to do," he practically growled.

When I felt a sharp, stinging sensation on the left side of my face, I realized he had just slapped me. My vision was instantly filled with sparkles. Logan grabbed my waist as I tried to push his arms away. My jaw ached like Hades. He grabbed my waist again and slammed me back against the side of the pinball machine. When I tried to push him away, he hit me again.

"The beset part is, you can't tell anyone," he said quietly, "because my lawyers would completely screw yours over."

He tried to break the strap on my dress but I was able to hit his hand away. My eyes were starting to sting with tears, a couple of which quickly spilled over. Logan pushed me to the ground angrily, and my head hit the leg of the pool table. He advanced toward me, and I instinctively pulled my legs in away from him.

The door slammed open, causing me to thank every single god there was. Norman stood in the doorway with Max and Ana right behind him. Logan looked completely unafraid as he stared at them. Ana and Max walked around him as Norman turned on the light, flicking open his switchblade. At this, Logan actually laughed.

"You can't do crap with a knife," he said, sneering.

Norman's jaw clenched. Suddenly, he flung his knife through the air so it went right across Logan's scalp, giving him a buzzcut right down the middle of his head. Logan laughed yet again.

"Nice job, dumbass, but now you've got no knife."

"But I do," Ana said from behind him as she yanked the knife out of the wall.

"You've never used a knife in your life, Ana."

"Au contrare, neighbor. You never knew me until Furrows."

"So?"

"All you know is we live near each other. I never told you I wasn't from _your_ neighborhood."

"No, you did not…"

She had never told me that, either, as matter of fact. I felt someone touch my shoulder and cringed away. When I looked up, it was Norman standing there. He took his jacket off and gave it to me so I could wrap it around myself like a shield. Norman stood next to me protectively.

"Exactly. I have a question for you: do you remember the rumors of Ani?"

"Yeah," Logan said, no sounding very uncertain. "She didn't belong to a gang, but she was the best thief and fighter from that side of the city."

"Yeah, I did pretty well."

"Y-you could?" Logan's eyes widened for a second, but then he smirked. "I heard Ani was a bit of a slut, too."

"I had my bad moments."

She suddenly dug the tip of the knife into his shoulder, dragging it down his arm in a flash of movement. Logan doubled over, grabbing his arm as blood trickled down his hand. He used his good arm to punch Ana in the stomach. Max put him in a headlock in a second. Ana flung the knife into Logan's foot, causing him to double over again.

Max started to drag him out of the room, but Norman stopped him. He punched Logan as hard as he could between the eyes. Max dragged a now unconscious Logan out of the room. Ana hugged me so hard that I could not breathe. She held me out at arm's length to give me a onceover.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yes," I said uncertainly. "When did you become a badass legend?"

She shrugged.

I laughed a little. "You know I was joking. It's not like you actually were that Ani he was talking about."

"Uh, oh, yeah." She hugged me again. "I'll go get Max before he completely kills Logan."

As Ana walked out the door, her thick long hair swung to one side so I could just barely make out the word "Ani" in a small script right on the back of her neck, which was usually covered by her hair. I gave a short laugh. The little tramp had been lying to me.

"You okay?" Norman asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Watching you guys do all that…it helped a lot, in a weird way," I admitted. "And don't call the cops. His lawyers are the best."

"Which sucks royal ass."

I took off his jacket, holding it out to him. "Take it. This school spends way too much on heat."

He stretched his arm as far as it could go to take the jacket back from me. I pulled the jacket closer to me, and he froze.

"I'm not scared of you," I assured him. "You should be the one afraid of me. I'm emotionally unstable." Just F.Y.I., I was lying, so do not worry. "Any second, I could break into tears or song."

"Um…"

I started to dance around Norman. "_You_ _can dance! You can jive! Having the time of your life! Oooohhh…see that girl! Watch that scene! Diggin' the dancing queen!_" I pointed at Norman. "Take it away."

He walked toward me. "I don't sing. Or dance, for that matter."

He stopped in front of me and I looked up at him. "You should. It relieves stress."

"Oh, what stress could I _possibly _have knowing you?"

I looked at my left arm. The burn was now a scar that was shaped like a snake. "I wonder…"

"It was the same burn, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. The fire in the Ares cabin was Python's attempt to get into camp. I got branded, basically."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You found out eventually."

"From Chiron."

Was he really going to instigate an argument with me right now? "I technically told you earlier."

"Asking me about Python doesn't count."

"I told you that if I died, you had to kill him. Come on, you're Norman, you got what I was trying to tell you."

"Not really." He laughed a little. "It kind of scrambled up my brain when you kissed me."

I tried as hard as I could to repress a smile. "Interesting…Then for the rest of your life, your brain shall remain unscrambled by me, I promise you that."

"Let's see how long that promise lasts."

He walked out of the room, riding his high horse. How rude! I had not even come up with a sarcastic comment before he left. I rushed out into the hallway to find Norman was leaning against the wall as if he knew I would follow him. He just always knows what I am going to do. I leaned against the doorframe. It is not as if I did that so I was inches from Norman. No, no, I did it because the doorframe is comfortable in all its, you know, metalyness.

"In case you have forgotten, I always keep my promises," I reminded him with an air of slight indifference.

"I know. But that's the kind of promise it takes two to keep." He smiled. "Goodnight, Soleil."

He walked down the hall, still smiling. At the end he clicked a button on his watch so he shimmered out of visibility. I rested my head on the doorframe.

"Goodnight, Norman."

* * *

><p>And that's the end! Please let me know what you thought! :) Thank you so much for reading and there is going to be a sequel called "Nicki St. Vincent: Sweet Dreams". xx<p> 


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